Yes, that was our first try to take the hike from the carpark at the peak, but the weather was too bad, so we had to try again two days later. The interesting thing is the second time was rainy and foggy the way up, but nice and clear on top. You can take an amazing hike to the highest peak Pico Ruivo. It's an 8 km walk and 8 back, by that time the weather changed and we got completely soaked by rain. But the experiance was amazing, even though I nearly got hit by lightning at the end :D

Well, the peak is one of the well known touristic sites of the island, partly because it is accessable by this road, and it offers unbelievable views and hiking routes. Normally you can't just drive straight up to the peak of a mountain this high, so yeah there are some tourist buses. I have another similar clip with buses on the same road the second time we drove up (in this clip the weather got heavy by the time we got up to take the hike)