You’re surrounded by blue and violet hydrangeas in flower. Below you, dizzyingly steep, there’s an oval lake set like a gleaming sapphire in a lush wooded landscape broken up by small fields. The sky curves like a great blue bowl above you, and this place honestly feels like paradise.
This is Flores island, just one of nine deliciously exotic Azores islands to discover on our specially-chosen Azores tours. This dramatic, Eden-like archipelago offers rugged landscapes studded with deep azure lakes formed in the circular mouths of ancient volcanoes. Fishing boats bob around the islands on the crystal clear sea, tiny villages cling to the slopes, and there are countless lovely sandy beaches and coves. Let’s explore the Azores.
About the Azores – Tours of an extraordinary paradise
There are 9 Azores islands way out in the remote North Atlantic, 870 miles from Lisbon: Sao Miguel island, Terceira, Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Santa Maria, Graciosa, Flores and Corvo.
The islands are split into three groups and scattered across 370 miles of ocean. One island group contains Flores and Corvo, out west. Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico and Faial are in the middle, and to the east there’s São Miguel, Santa Maria, and the most remote of all, the Formigas islets. So the Azores are not exactly a day trip away from Portugal. Every island has a small airport and while it’s easy enough to fly between islands in the same group, the distance between groups makes visiting all of them in one holiday a challenge.
Each island has its own unique dialect, foods and traditions thanks to being gradually populated over a couple of centuries by people from different places. The result is an incredibly rich and exciting experience in every way, from the food to the culture, the warm welcome to the astonishing seascapes, views, and countryside.
Love the Azores climate
The weather’s pretty nice considering you’re a fair way north and in the middle of a vast ocean. It’s mild and gentle in the Azores, except for sometimes-violent winter storms, safely away from meddlesome continents and kept cosy by the great Gulf Stream. Summer offers the best weather, when it can be gorgeous at sea level but chilly and misty on the mountaintops. The spring and autumn are cheaper, often just as lovely weather-wise. Summer temperatures go from 20 – 26C, tailing off to 15- 21C in early spring and late autumn.
The history of the magical Azores
The Azores began life eight million years ago. Some say there were people here as long as two thousand years ago but there’s no solid proof. European explorers found these islands in the 1300s, then the Portuguese and Flemish gradually colonised them. A massive earthquake in 1522 flattened the original capital, Vila Franca do Campo, killing five thousand and moving the capital to Ponta Delgada. Vila Franca do Campo was rebuilt on the original site, now a vibrant fishing port and luxury yacht destination.
Political problems at home in Portugal, English raiders and Spanish interference took their toll, as did the early 1800s Portuguese civil wars called the Liberal Wars. Rebel militia took over briefly in 1931. Then came WW2, the Cold War, and the 1974 Carnation Revolution, each changing the islands’ face in one way or another. Now it’s calm and peaceful, and there hasn’t been any major volcanic activity to speak of for a long time.
Visit the Azores for vivid volcanic violence
The landscapes here are volcanic every step of the way, big on drama like something from a dinosaur movie. First, here’s some reassurance: Santa Maria, Graciosa, Flores, and Corvo have been free from volcanic eruptions since modern humans have lived here.
The rest of the islands have had the occasional eruption but the archipelago seems to have stopped growing, at least for now. The last new island bubbled up from the ocean depths in 1811, reached a high point of 100m and a circumference of just over a mile, then quickly eroded, leaving no trace except the bubbling volcanic gas, still active just 75m under the surface.
The smallest island, Corvo, was born from a violent Pompeii-like eruption, and the volcanic rock of Flores has been carved by water and wind into deep furrows and folds. Faial is home to a classic low-slung shield volcano and its accompanying caldera. Graciosa offers the fascinating active volcanic Furnas do Enxofre, and long, thin São Jorge was made when fissures deep under the ocean steadily spewed out lava over millennia.
Mount Pico, on the island of Pico, is Portugal’s highest point at 2351 metres above sea level with remarkable views, and the ocean here is incredibly deep. If there was no ocean, the islands would be mountains and their size would be mind-bending, some of earth’s highest.
Visit Terceira to marvel at one of the biggest volcanic craters in the archipelago and spot the many craters and cones littering the island of São Miguel. The gentlest landscapes are on the oldest island, Santa Maria, where the winds and weather have eroded the rock to a smooth finish and there are lots of gorgeous sandy beaches.
The best stuff – What to do in the Azores
This place is ideal for nature lovers and people with a yen for peace. It’s where beautiful thermal bathing pools await you, perfect for exotic relaxation and great for wellness. It’s a wonderland for walkers and hikers, the ultimate in Instagrammable and breathtaking at every turn. You can go whale watching, swim with dolphins, explore remote areas on a quad bike, observe nature in all its grandeur and fall truly, madly and deeply in love with the fabulous food.
The caves on Terceira are huge, curious and very lovely. The plumes of smoke and colourful mosses at Furnas do Enxofre are unique. Sao Miguel offers a crater lake so stunning it doesn’t feel real, with views to match at a multitude of dizzying viewpoints and beautifully-kept tea fields to visit. The bold, brave and fit love to climb Mount Pico mountain, and wildlife fans adore watching the seabirds whirl and wheel in the skies at Sao Jorge.
Faial is eerie with its lunar-like landscapes and vast fertile volcanic caldera, both clear signs of a violent geological past. The hike around the crater’s dizzying edge is simply spectacular. Waterfalls and water sports, wonderful beaches and wild swimming are popular.
There are things to do in urban areas as well. Explore pretty Angra do Heroismo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Terceira island. Wander the posh marina at Horta on Faial, and take a look around whaling museums depicting a brutal and grisly past on Pico island.
Azores tours you won’t want to miss
You can go under your own steam, or choose fantastic ready-made adventures courtesy of these great Azores tours. Which is these is the most inspiring and exciting?
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