AZORES – Flores

Azores – Flores

July 2016, I make my long promised return to the Azores to capture the beauty of the island of “Flores” and “Corvo”, the two most further from the capital of the Azorean archipelago, the last stretch of land in the midst of the Atlantic, the most distant and in my opinion, the most beautiful island of the European continent.

Unspoiled by mass tourism, the peaceful island stands out for its almost idilic beauty, an archetype for the notion of natural paradise. It is situated on the North American Continental Plate of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and belongs to the western group of islands in the Azores archipelago. With a population of approximately 4000 inhabitants, the island stretches across an area of 141,7 km². Discovered in 1492 by Diogo de Teive, the island developed initially from a submarine volcano from the Pleistocene epoch, along with the island of Corvo.

It is usually accessible from outside by the airfield that has frequent connection flights to São Miguel, capital of the archipelago, and from there to Lisbon. Although the acesses are relatively in good conditions, the roads are narrow and the best way to visit the island is by car, which you can rent at the airport.

Waterfalls are present throughout the island, the highest dropping from a height of three hundred meters. Since May 27, 2009, Flores was chosen as one of the several areas to be included on UNESCO‘s list of World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

// Respect places & people // Follow rules // Avoid mass tourism //