13 hours ago
Exploring Flores And Corvo Islands, The Azores' Last Wild Frontiers
The houses of Aldeia da Cuada, a tourism village in Flores island Courtesy of Aldeia da Cuada
People on Flores island like to talk about how remote they are. They brag that they come from the westernmost point in Europe, and they have a hard-earned frontiersman pride: They live in most far-flung reach of a far-flung archipelago.
Their corner of Portugal's Azores archipelago is almost as far from North America as it is from the European continent. (This fun fact helps explain why so many Azorean Portuguese emigrated to the United States and Canada in the 20th century.) It's not particularly close—nearly 1,200 miles—to either one, nor even to the main islands of the group.
Getting there takes some doing. Although the regional airline, SATA Air Açores, has regular flights to Flores from the biggest island, São Miguel, many include stops on other islands along the way, and weather-related diversions or delays are common. Unless you sail or fly private, that's the only way you're getting there.
Waterfalls in Flores Courtesy of Experience OC
But this difficulty is part of their appeal—after all, many of the most amazing places are the ones that are the hardest to reach. This is no longer true of the Azores as a whole; the bigger islands are easily reached via direct flights from North America. Nearly a decade of destination marketing has paid off, landing the islands on so many it lists and making them the fastest-growing destination (by at least one metric) for American tourists. In 2023, some 1.2 million visitors descended on this 'Hawaii of Europe,' most of them concentrated on São Miguel, where some locals are grousing about an excess of traffic around popular sites.
Flores does not have too much traffic. In fact, it has very little traffic. Only about 4,000 people live in its 55 square miles. A few villages, in varying states of habitation and disrepair, dot the island, and there appear to be more hiking trails than paved roads. The origin of the name—'flowers' in Portuguese—is self-explanatory.
But the island itself, it seems, is sometimes misunderstood. Armando Rodrigues, who founded the local tour company Experience OC seven years ago to bring his native island to life for adventurous visitors (and to show that it's possible to have a great trip without renting a car), says he's puzzled by some of the recent travel content he's seen about his native island. More than one 'expert' praised its beaches and nightlife.
Canyoning in Flores Courtesy of Experience OC
This is wrong. There are a few rocky deltas where you can watch the waves crash into the shore, and there are some restaurants that serve dinner and might let you hang out for a little while afterward, but no one goes for beaches or nightlife. They go for nature. The entire island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a kaleidoscope of lush valleys, dramatic waterfalls and serene lagoons. And while the namesake flowers are a specific yellow blossom that pops out in the autumn, there are colorful flowers and a zillion shades of green throughout the year.
This untouched landscape was the inspiration for a new weeklong tour from the Portuguese adventure travel company We Love Small Hotels. (Don't let the name confuse you: They specialize in active travel, experiential journeys and sustainable tourism in the rural heart of Portugal, though their programs do feature charming accommodations as well.) The program aims to be an overview of what the founders call, 'without a doubt, one of the most impressive places in Portugal.' It includes hikes and canyoning with personable guides from Experience OC, a day trip to nearby Corvo island (more on that later) and a sweet place to stay.
Carlota Silva, the manager of Aldeia da Cuada doesn't refer to her property as a hotel. 'Maybe we can call it a tourism village?' she asks. It's a logical explanation, given that 'aldeia' means 'village' in Portuguese, and the rural tourism project is a collection of standalone stone houses in a formerly abandoned village.
A house at Aldeia da Cuada Courtesy of the hotel
Silva's parents began the project almost by accident. In the early 2000s, they renovated one house as a simple country getaway, with no water or electricity. They were surprised when some German tourists wanted to rent it, but they said yes, and then they said yes to the next set of would-be visitors. And the ones after that.
The project grew into its current incarnation of 16 houses, ranging from one to six bedrooms, that are full of historic charm—volcanic stone walls, braided rugs on the floors, crocheted doilies on the dressers—but now have proper plumbing and electricity (but still, blissfully, no wifi). They share a professional reception staff and a very good restaurant, which offers a handful of local dishes each day.
Another Flores native got into the tourism business in a more deliberate way. Carlos Mendes got his first underwater camera in 1995, the same year he became a diving instructor and opened a dive center on the island. Then he traveled the world as a dive professional and photographer before investing more seriously in quality tourism at home.
The crater in Corvo Carlos Mendes/Extremo Ocidente
He bought the island's first semi-rigid boat and developed his company, Extremo Ocidente, to combine that with diving and island tours of both Flores and the even more remote Corvo, about 13 miles away. Often he serves as the skipper himself, pointing out waterfalls and dramatic caves along the Flores coastline before speeding across the open ocean to the smaller island.
The main attraction on Corvo is the fully intact crater of the volcano that formed the island millions of years ago. It's more than two miles in diameter and nearly 1,000 feet deep, its slopes covered in vivid green grass and dotted with remarkably docile cows. It's one of those iconic images of wild nature that people show when they're selling the beauty of the Azores.
Corvo is the smallest island in the archipelago, measuring only 6.6 square miles and home to just 435 inhabitants. An afternoon here has a way of putting things into perspective. The Azores are remote. Flores island is really remote. Corvo is even more so. And deep in the crater, beside the water's edge, the feeling is truly that of having reached the end of the earth. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes This Hotel Put The Azores On The Map. Its New Villa Amps Up The Appeal By Ann Abel Forbes Could The Azores Be The New Iceland? This Hotel Entrepreneur Thinks So By Ann Abel Forbes A Pineapple Paradise In Portugal's Azores: Herdade Do Ananás By Ann Abel
