Semana dos Baleeiros 2027: Whalers' Week in Lajes do Pico

For generations, Lajes do Pico lived from the sea and from the whale hunt, which ended in the Azores in 1986. Every summer the town remembers those men in the Semana dos Baleeiros, Whalers' Week. Visit Azores describes it as a tribute to everyone who took part in whaling, wrapped in an eclectic programme at the end of the summer.

When it falls in 2027

The week builds up to the feast of Nossa Senhora de Lurdes, patron saint of the whalers, held on the last Sunday of August, as the regional tourism board's guide to religious traditions explains. In 2027 that Sunday is 29 August, and the festivities fill the week before it. The exact programme is published by the Município das Lajes do Pico in the weeks before the festival.

What to expect

The week mixes religious celebrations with social, cultural and sporting events tied to whaling heritage. The stars are the botes baleeiros, the slender wooden whaleboats built for six rowers, which race in regattas off the coast. In 2026 the Azorean whaleboat, with the skills to build and handle it in Lajes do Pico, was entered in Portugal's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage, so expect the boats to be centre stage.