Protected Landscape of the Vineyard Culture of Criação Velha

The Pico Island Vineyard Landscape - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - covers 987 ha (surrounded by a buffer zone of 1,924 ha). It is made up of a strip of land with two emblematic sites - the Lajido da Criação Velha and the Lajido de Santa Luzia, set in extensive lava fields and characterized by extreme natural and landscape richness and beauty.
The area of the Protected Landscape of the Vineyard Culture of Criação Velha manifests itself through a network of long stone walls, which cut the fields into small corrals erected to protect the vines from the wind and sea water. The result is an incredible design of the landscape and natural elements. In this grid, there are also excellent representations of the traditional architecture linked to vine growing, such as the rola-pipas, the rilheiras, the shelter houses, the tanks, the cellars, the houses and farms from the early 19th century, the hermitages, the portinhos, and the tide pools.
Many remarkable bio- and geodiversity elements are associated with this landscape, namely endemic species of fauna and flora (rare communities with protected status), and some geosites integrating the Azores Geopark, a UNESCO Global Geopark,
Also associated with this landscape are remarkable biodiversity and geodiversity elements, with particular emphasis on the existence of endemic species of flora and fauna (abundant rare communities with protected status) and geosites of the Azores Geopark, a UNESCO World Geopark.