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Beautiful natural islands get top100 sustainable destination award

Atlantic Azores ready to remain unspoiledeautiful natural islands get top100 sustainable destination award

The misty Atlantic archipelago is fast on its way to becomingh Portugal's most captivating new destination. Mary Lussiana explores the dramatic lodgings, artisanal wines and vibrant arts festivals setting the volcanic islands alight.

FURNAS is a handsome, brightly painted village lying in the shadow of the volatile volcano after which it was named. It wouldn’t look out of place in the Pyrenees. Except it’s in the middle of the Atlantic, a thousand miles west of Lisbon and a good way east of New York, in a place where the Earth’s bowels erupted 20 million years ago, blasting nine sharp volcanic fragments into the briny.

This Portuguese archipelago is almost 1,000 miles off the coast of North Africa, but it is easily accessible via direct flights from London to Ponta Delgada, the capital (courtesy of Ryanair), with a flying time of just four hours. 

You can now fly direct to the Azores for as little as £50 return

Portugal’s humming creative scenes in Lisbon and Porto have had our heads turning for a while. Now, however, our attention is being drawn some 1,200km off shore, deep into the Atlantic, to the remote Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. 

Rising from the azure Atlantic, the Azores archipelago is a land of beauty and adventure. Alistair McLean reveals why you’ll fall head over heels for the islands

Your June essentials: Will Millard on tribal travel; reaching new heights in the Azores; the benefits of beignets; top foodie escapes and much more