“Your staff were very helpful – the best ever. One of the best family holidays we have ever had, not sure how to top it! Superb weather – up to 28 degrees every day.”
The Harper family (18-25 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel – whalewatching holiday staying at Hotel Caloura

“We had a fantastic time and hope to return sometime. Everything was as good as we expected and in many cases better! Many thanks.”
Mrs King (15-29 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel & Pico – whale watching holiday staying at Caloura, Talisman & Whalecome ao Pico

“Everything worked seamlessly and the quality of the accomodation, transfers, car hire etc. was excellent. The Azores were beautiful and we may up sticks to Flores to start a self sufficient life! Many thanks.”
Mr & Mrs Dearden (25 Jul – 08 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel, Pico & Flores

“Both whale watching trips were amazing and the natural scenery was breathtaking – your brochure doesn’t really do it justice. After the whale watching our kids were grinning from ear to ear (as were we!). Overall, a very good vacation enjoyed by all of us. One which we will remember with happiness and will be hard to top! Well done and many thanks.”
The Dodd family (4-18 Aug 09)
Sao Miguel & Faial – whale watching holiday staying at House of Varadouro and Quinta Altamira

Three of the Azores islands have excellent canyoning : Sao Miguel, Sao Jorge and Flores. Flores offers the greatest diversity of routes from steep drops to easy routes. Sao Jorge  has harder routes which are more difficult to reach as most of them are only accessible by boat. While Sao Miguel’s routes are mainly in the interior of the island and are less steep. Canyoning is still very new to the Azores and only on Sao Miguel are there currently qualified and licensed guides operating but several groups a year choose to go on their own or take their own guides as many of the routes are now bolted.

Flores canyoning
With the greatest potential for canyoning, Flores had its first route opened in 2004. 3 expeditions later, there are now 25 routes mapped  ranging from relatively easy to technically difficult. The longest route is 500m and the biggest vertical height difference on a route is 220m. However, there are some shorter routes which take just 1 hour to complete and are suitable for the less experienced. Many of the routes have beautiful natural pools and are centred around Faja Grande, the west coast between Mosteiros and Lagedo and the southeast coast between Santa Cruz and Lages.

Sao Jorge canyoning
The first route on Sao Jorge was explored in 2006 but this island has some wonderful medium grade routes due to the abundance of water and geology of the island which has resulted in some impressive waterfalls. There are 17 routes on Sao Jorge ranging between 1 to 6 hours.

Sao Miguel
With 11 interesting routes, Sao Miguel’s canyoning is mostly in ravines and the routes are generally not that steep. The first route was opened in 1997 and now there are a few companies offering guided canyoning days on the island mainly in the Nordeste area.

Waterfalls on the west coast

The beautiful island of Flores, the westernmost of the Azores archipelago, has just received biosphere reserve status by UNESCO under its programme “Man and the Biosphere”.

Flores is the third Azorean island (after Graciosa and Corvo) to be granted this status. It is based on its position on the mid Atlantic ridge and the fact that the whole island has wonderful scenery, pristine geological formations and culture and also encompasses the surrounding waters.

The document also refers to the exceptional interest of the island’s high cliffs that dominate the majority of the coastline dotted by small rocky islets. It also mentions that the coastal area supports traditional fishing and attracts quality tourism specifically diving and whale and dolphin watching as well as wonderful coastal walks.

The total number of Biosphere reserves in the world is now 553 spread across 107 countries. Other prominent reserves include the Amazon, Yellowstone and Mount Olympus.

This is a wonderful boost for Flores (which has always been my favourite island!) and will hopefully go a long way to preserving both its natural and cultural beauty. After all the Azores were voted the second most pristine group of islands in the world by National Geographic magazine last year.