Last Sunday, the Regional Secretary for the Environment and the Sea, Álamo de Meneses, presided over the opening ceremony of the 2nd phase of the renewal works of Levadas, which are also part of Faial Natural Park.

The park has seven pedestrian trails, including the Levadas pedestrian trails, which was subject to interventions carried out by the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Secretary for the Environment and the Sea, in partnership with the Electricity and Gas Company of EDA group.

The trail is located in the Protected Landscape of Zona Central. This hiking circuit is of special interest for its flora, fauna and geology features as well as for its hydroelectrical importance for the island.

The hydroelectric power plant was open in 1964 by the Minister of Public Works, Arantes de Oliveira. At the time, the production and operation of the plant were under de administration of the Horta City Hall, being transferred to EDA (Azores Electricity Company) in 1982.

In 1998, the plant suffered some damages caused by the earthquake that occurred in the same year. The "levada" (watercourse) once stretched over 9.5 km long and collected water from various parts of Faial. Currently, only a 4.5 km extension is in operation.

With easy and free access, this pedestrian trail starts by the Capelo water tank. After the opening of the second phase, it has a 6.1 kilometre extension and low difficulty level (12.2 kilometres round trip).

Throughout the trail, visitors may observe laurissilva flora, including Azores laurel (Laurus azorica), Frangula azorica, Vaccinium cylindraceum and Azores Juniper (Juniperus brevifolia).

In this place there is also a rich variety of ferns, with special emphasis to Culcita macrocarpa species, which has a thick rhizome with reddish and thin hair that were once used for pillow stuffing.
 
Along the trail, visitors will also have the opportunity of observing the old lava flow from the 1672 eruption, commonly known as "Mistérios do Capelo" (Mysteries of Capelo).

The fauna species that may be found during the trail mainly include Azorean bird species, such as the Blackbird (Turdus merula azorensis), Western Azores Goldcrest (Regulus regulus inermis) and Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebes moreletti). 

It can also be observed the alignment of the volcanic cones of  Capelo Volcanic Complex, a fissure system located in a west-east oriented fracture zone.