🇵🇹 Natural wonders of Portugal
A country of golden coasts and river valleys on Europe's western edge — and, far out in the Atlantic, the green volcanic islands of the Azores with their crater lakes and whales.
🗓️ Best time for nature: Late spring to early autumn (roughly May–September) for warm, dry weather on the mainland and peak conditions and whale watching in the Azores.
The lay of the land
Mainland Portugal is a land of Atlantic beaches, rugged cliffs, terraced river valleys like the Douro, and rolling cork-oak country. But its most singular natural wonders lie 1,500 kilometres out to sea: the Azores, an autonomous archipelago of nine volcanic islands rising from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Green and geothermal, dotted with crater lakes and hot springs and ringed by deep water rich in whales, they are one of Europe's most remarkable island landscapes and include Pico, the country's highest peak.
Where to begin
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The Azores
Nine green volcanic islands with crater lakes, hot springs, and whales.
A taste of the place
Portuguese cooking celebrates the sea and the land: bacalhau (salt cod) in countless forms, fresh fish and shellfish, hearty stews, and, in the Azores, volcano-cooked cozido, rich cheeses, and local pineapple.
Traveling responsibly
- Reach the Azores by air from Lisbon; rent a car to explore each island.
- Come May–September for the best weather and whale watching.
- Pack layers for the Azores — mid-Atlantic weather changes fast.
On Europe’s western edge, Portugal is a country of golden Atlantic coasts, terraced river valleys, and rolling cork-oak country. But its most extraordinary natural wonders lie far out to sea. Some 1,500 kilometres into the Atlantic rise the Azores, an archipelago of nine green volcanic islands lifted above the waves by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge — a world of crater lakes, steaming hot springs, hydrangea-lined roads, and deep surrounding waters that draw a third of the world’s whale and dolphin species. This atlas chapter begins among those mid-ocean islands.
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