The Regional Directorate for Culture, through the Pico Museum and in partnership with the Pico Natural Park, will hold a conference on "The Discovery of Pico Natural Park" to be delivered by Manuel Paulino Costa at the Whaling Museum next Friday, November 9.
 
The conference, scheduled at 9 PM, will be followed by the opening of the photography exhibition entitled as "A look at Pico Natural Park." Both events are part of the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the creation of this park.
 
The Pico Natural Park, a single management structure of all protected and classified areas on the island, is the largest of the Azores, comprising 22 protected areas that stretches over 35% of Pico's surface.
 
It consists of four natural reserves, a natural monument, eight protected areas for habitat or species management, six protected landscape areas and three protected resource management areas.
 
The Park also includes several classified areas, with special emphasis on Pico Vineyard Landscape classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, as well as the geosites of the Azores Geopark, which is a UNESCO World Geopark, among others.
 
Moreover, it comprises three Interpretation Centres offering differentiated services and products and six hiking trails located in the areas of the Pico Mountain Natural Reserve, the "Mistérios" of Prainha Natural Reserve (lava fields created by volcanic eruptions), the Vineyard Protected Landscape and the Central Zone.
 
Due to its uniqueness, this Natural Park has been distinguished with several awards. In 2010, the Pico Volcanic Landscape won the "7 Natural Wonders of Portugal" contest in the "Great Reliefs" category and was a finalist, as National Destination, of the EDEN Prize competition in 2011.
 
The Hiking Trail in Criação Velha, located within this landscape, was considered one of the eight best trails in the world by British magazine " BootsnALL."
 
The Regional Directorate for Culture informs that this and other events may be consulted in the Cultural Agenda of CulturAçores Portal at the following address: www.culturacores.azores.gov.pt.