More than 1,300 km west of Lisbon lies a Portuguese archipelago that is like a paradise anchored in the middle of the North Atlantic.<\/p>\n
Discovered and settled by the Portuguese in the 15th century, the Azores archipelago consists of nine islands: S\u00e3o Miguel is the largest and most populated<\/strong> (around 130,000 inhabitants in 759 square kilometers) and is home to the city of Ponta Delgada, one of the three capitals of the Azores (the other two being Horta, on Fayal, and Angra do Hero\u00edsmo, on Terceira). The smallest island is Corvo (only 17 square kilometers and just over 400 inhabitants). The Azores is the westernmost territory of Europe, and the westernmost of its islands is Flores<\/strong> (143 square kilometers and around 4,000 inhabitants), although if we're talking about islets, the westernmost is Monchique, with 2,500 square kilometers and completely uninhabited.<\/p>\n These islands are of volcanic origin and lie on the boundary between three tectonic plates.<\/strong> As the westernmost island in the archipelago, Flores is also the westernmost territory in Europe. Furthermore, the Azores are home to Portugal's highest mountain, the Pico volcano (2,352 meters)<\/strong>, on Pico Island. These islands are very mountainous and boast truly spectacular green landscapes, as you can see in this magnificent video published three months ago by Kyle Kotajarvi<\/a>, in which he takes a tour of the islands of Flores and S\u00e3o Miguel:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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