Far beyond the horizon, where the Atlantic touches the sky and the world seems to slow its pace, lie the Islands of the Azores. Scattered like magical ships across 400miles of ocean, and untouched by mass tourism, they are the perfect destination for travelers who want to know the true meaning of the phrase ‘getting away from it all’.

For the east lie the islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel, home to the capital, Ponta Delgada. With hot thermal springs, volcanic lakes, steaming geysers and deep verdant valleys, São Miguel sometimes seems like a lost world, while its sister island offers gentler, more tranquil landscapes.

The five islands that make up the central group are where whale lovers make their pilgrimage to watch these magnificent animals breaching and sky hopping in the deep ocean. But the delights don’t stop with whales - the island of Pico shares its name with the majestic volcanic peak that rises 2,350m above a lava-strewn landscape, while the forests, hills and stone-walled fields of Terceira offer more bucolic delights.

Faial has an altogether more cosmopolitan flavor, with a superb yachting marina and harbor.

Further west lie Flores and Corvo. Remote and wild, these islands were once the haunt of pirates and buccaneers. They now offer modern adventurers the chance to enjoy some of the most beautiful walking imaginable. Corvo is particularly blissful – the island’s single policeman has little more than warm sleeping dogs not to get in the way of one of the island’s two taxis.

Highlights

This beautiful archipelago 900 miles west of the Portuguese mainland consists of nine islands divided into three groups: the eastern (São Miguel and Santa Maria), the central (Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial), and the western (Corvo and Flores). The Azores are best described as serene and stunning. Blue Ocean. Green lakes. Magnificent displays of the Azaleas and hydrangeas. Impressive manors. Quaint churches that date back as far as the 15th century, when the Azores were first discovered by the Portuguese navigators. The perfect setting for a holiday or any day.