Portugal
When
May to Sept
Price
From 2 400€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
5 nights
Ideal length
São Miguel, the largest island of the Portuguese Azores archipelago located over fifteen hundred kilometres from Lisbon in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, owes its nickname of "green island" to lush vegetation nourished by a mild oceanic climate and frequent rain. The island's most iconic site, Sete Cidades, brings together within a single volcanic crater two lakes of opposing colours, one blue and one green, separated by a thin land bridge, according to local legend born from the tears of a princess and a shepherd separated by an impossible love.
The Sete Cidades crater, formed by the collapse of an extinct volcano several thousand years ago, holds two lakes of distinct colours, Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde, whose different hues are scientifically explained by the varying depth of the basins and different light reflection, but which local legend attributes to the blue tears of a princess and the green eyes of a shepherd separated by an impossible love. The Vista do Rei viewpoint, built on the crater's edge, offers one of the most photographed panoramas in the entire Azores archipelago.
São Miguel retains residual geothermal activity perceptible in the Furnas region, where natural hot springs and fumaroles feed open-air bathing pools as well as a unique culinary tradition: cozido das Furnas, a traditional stew cooked for several hours directly in the heated volcanic soil, a cooking method that harnesses underground heat rather than a conventional fire source. Fogo Lagoon, another of the island's volcanic craters, rounds out this ensemble of landscapes shaped by volcanism active since the archipelago's formation.
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A Lodge Overlooking the Sete Cidades Crater
A lodge overlooking the Sete Cidades crater, rooms overlooking the twin lakes, a garden planted with the hydrangeas typical of the island.
A Thermal Guesthouse in Furnas
A guesthouse in the thermal village of Furnas, a pool fed by the region's natural hot springs, within walking distance of the volcanic fumaroles.
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