The Azores (in Portuguese Açores) are an archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,500 kilometres from Lisbon and almost 4,000 from North America. They rise on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian, African and North American plates meet: that is why they are a world of craters, volcanic cones, lakes, fumaroles and hot springs, covered in brilliant green pastures, hydrangea hedges and woods. The climate is temperate and oceanic, mild but changeable: people say that in the Azores you can experience all four seasons in a single day.
The islands
The islands fall into three groups:
- eastern group: São Miguel and Santa Maria;
- central group: Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial;
- western group: Flores and Corvo.
Since 1976 the Azores have been an autonomous region of Portugal, with about 236,000 inhabitants and their own government and parliament. The institutions are shared between Ponta Delgada, Angra do Heroísmo and Horta. The largest city is Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.
A little history
The islands were uninhabited when Portuguese navigators reached them around 1427; settlement began in the 1430s, with Portuguese and also Flemish settlers. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the archipelago was a vital port of call for ships returning from the Americas and India. In the nineteenth century Terceira was the Liberal stronghold during the civil war, so much so that Angra was given the title "do Heroísmo". In the twentieth century the Azores saw heavy emigration to the United States, Canada and Brazil, and Lajes air base was built on Terceira, still used by the United States today. The economy now rests on cattle and dairy, fishing and, increasingly, sustainable tourism.
São Miguel
São Miguel, the "green island", is the largest and most populous, with about 133,000 inhabitants. Its capital, Ponta Delgada, has an elegant centre with the city gates, the mother church of São Sebastião, fine squares paved in black and white stone and the Carlos Machado Museum.
The island's wonders are its volcanic landscapes. In the west, the great caldera of Sete Cidades holds two lakes, one green and one blue, best seen from the Vista do Rei viewpoint. In the centre, Lagoa do Fogo is a wild crater lake reached by a trail. In the east, the Furnas valley is full of fumaroles and hot springs: here cozido das Furnas, a stew of meats and vegetables, is cooked for hours in the hot ground, and you can bathe in the iron-rich thermal pool of the Terra Nostra park or the pools of Poça da Dona Beija. On the north coast are the tea plantations of Gorreana and Porto Formoso, among the few in Europe, and near Ponta Delgada the pineapple greenhouses.
Black-sand beaches include Mosteiros, Santa Bárbara, popular with surfers, Água d'Alto and Ribeira Quente. At Vila Franca do Campo you can swim in the round lagoon of the Vila Franca islet. The main festival is that of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres in Ponta Delgada, on the fifth Sunday after Easter.
Terceira
Terceira has about 53,000 inhabitants, and its capital, Angra do Heroísmo, is a splendid Renaissance town with a grid of streets, colourful palaces and Baroque churches, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. Badly hit by the earthquake of 1 January 1980, it has been carefully restored. See the cathedral, the museum in the former São Francisco convent, the Captains-General palace and, on the Monte Brasil peninsula, the fortress of São João Baptista. Inland you can visit Algar do Carvão, a rare volcanic chimney you descend to a small lake, and the Furnas do Enxofre fumaroles. The island is dotted with impérios, small colourful chapels linked to the cult of the Holy Spirit, and holds the tourada à corda, a festival with a bull held on a rope through the streets. In June come the Sanjoaninas festivities, in autumn the Angra Jazz festival.
Pico and Faial
Pico is dominated by the volcano of the same name, 2,351 metres high: it is the highest mountain in Portugal and can be climbed in a day with a guide or by registering at the mountain house. The vineyards grown among walls of black lava stone, the currais, form a unique landscape listed by UNESCO in 2004. In Lajes do Pico the whalers' museum tells the story of whaling, carried out in small rowing boats until 1987; today Pico, like Faial and São Miguel, is one of the best places in the world for whale watching, with sperm whales, dolphins and, in spring, blue whales.
Faial, the "blue island" for the hydrangeas that bloom in summer, centres on Horta, whose marina is a legendary stop for sailors crossing the Atlantic: by tradition every crew leaves a painting on the quays, and Peter Café Sport is a famous meeting place. In the middle of the island lies the great Caldeira, below Cabeço Gordo (1,043 metres), while at the western tip the Capelinhos volcano, which erupted in 1957-58 creating new land, houses an underground interpretation centre.
São Jorge and Graciosa
São Jorge is a long, narrow island with high cliffs and fajãs, small plains formed by landslides and lava flows at the foot of the walls, often reachable only on foot. The most famous is Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo, with a lagoon where clams found nowhere else in the archipelago are harvested. The island is also known for its cheese, queijo São Jorge. Graciosa, the "white island", is the flattest of the central group and a UNESCO biosphere reserve: its main attraction is Furna do Enxofre, a large volcanic cave with an underground lake, while Carapacho has thermal baths.
Santa Maria, Flores and Corvo
Santa Maria, the "yellow island", is the oldest and the only one with sedimentary rocks and marine fossils; it has the driest, sunniest climate, the beautiful bay of São Lourenço, with terraced vineyards, and the pale sandy beach of Praia Formosa. Flores, in the western group, is perhaps the most spectacular: waterfalls tumbling by the hundred down the cliffs, such as those at Poço da Ribeira do Ferreiro, seven volcanic lakes including Lagoa Funda and Lagoa Comprida, the basalt formation of Rocha dos Bordões and the village of Fajã Grande. Off Flores lies the westernmost point of Europe. Corvo, the smallest, with just over 400 inhabitants, has a single village and a great crater, the Caldeirão, with small lakes and islets; it is also famous for the old wooden locks on its houses.
Practical tips
The Azores have direct flights from Lisbon and Porto and from some European and North American cities; inter-island connections are run by SATA and, in summer, by ferries, especially in the central group. Hiring a car is the best way to explore the islands. The best period is May to October, when the hydrangeas are in bloom and the sea is calmer, but the climate is mild all year. Up-to-date information is on the official Azores tourism website, Visit Azores, and on the Azores airport page.