Cork has been used for thousands of years. The most widespread application in cork’s history is as a wine closure, a use that began in the 17th century when Dom Perignon chose the bark of the cork oak as the perfect sealant for his champagne and it grew with the spread of mass-produced glass bottles. Portuguese cork has brought the world all of its greatest wines. Read more →

The Sopas do Espirito Santo, translated as Soups of the Holy Spirit, are traditional in the Azores during Easter celebrations, specifically the Holy Spirit Festivities and vary from island to island. Usually, on the Pentecost Day, in which the Holy Spirit descended over the Apostles, the event is celebrated with the Soup of the Holy Spirit made with local meat, vegetables and bread that is offered to everyone. Read more →

This February, on the weekend of 22 to 23rd - 200 varieties of camellias will be shown at the 12th Edition of Camellia Expo at Terra Nostra Casino, in Furnas, S. Miguel Island. Read more →

The Azores have a depth of caves, but on a volcanic set of islands – caves are really lava tubes. These are natural caves formed by lava flowing beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow long ago. Read more →

The Laurisilva is found primarily at an altitude between 900 and 4,200 feet and protects a wide variety of rare flora and fauna including the rare Priolo bullfinch. The Laurisilva Forest laurel tree is conical tree that can grow as high as 60 ft. tall. Today, the Laurus azorica is only found in the archipelago of the Azores. Read more →

"P. azorica is arguably Europe’s rarest bona fide orchid species," their report says "and the almost equally rare Platanthera micrantha is one of the best indicators of semi-natural Laurisilva habitats remaining on the Azores." Read more →

Several outfitters offer Jeep tours to the crater lakes of Sate Cidades, the central mountain crater lake of Lagoa do Fogo, the Furnas Valley and the rugged Nordeste region. Read more →

The Azores Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina), São Miguel Bullfinch, or Priolo, is a bird only found on the island of São Miguel. Read more →

It belongs to the Protected Landscape of the Central Area of Pico’s Natural Park. Like other Pico lakes, it is small and shallow - but the biggest lake on Pico. Read more →

QualityCoast has named the Azores the most sustainable tourism destination ahead of more than 1,000 other coastal and island locations worldwide. QualityCoast, a sustainable tourism international certification program, focused their study using several factors, including nature, environment, socio-economic factors and community. Read more →