The archipelago of the Azores is a group of 9 islands belonging to the territory of Portugal, although they benefit from its autonomy.
The 9 islands of the Azores are all of volcanic origin and are located in the North Atlantic, scattered along a range of about 600 km from Santa Maria island to Corvo island and roughly between 37 ° and 40 ° north latitude and 25 ° 31 ° west longitude. There are 246 772 people (data for 2011) in this island territory of 2 325 km2, which is located at a distance of 1 600 km from the European continente (Portugal) and 2454 km from the North American continent (Canada).
The Eastern Group, composed of Santa Maria and São Miguel islands, the Central Group integrates the Islands Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial, and the Western Group constituted by the Corvo and Flores Islands. The Azores are part of a biogeographic region of Macaronesia, a designation that means "fortunate islands", for those who live and who visit.
The archipelago offers unique conditions for the development of nature tourism, its unique natural heritage, which has poured its influences into an architectural and cultural heritage full of idiosyncrasies. This heritage has been preserved and classified and includes flora and fauna, volcanic cavities and geoparks, parks, botanical gardens and marine biodiversity. It is thanks to the mystical and fantastic nature of the Azores that make this the perfect place to practice activities in nature, whether for hiking, thermal relaxation, tasting of local products or to simply sightseeing and be dazzled.
