“One of the best tours in Europe”

Zoomer | January 29th, 2013

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Only five hours distance from Toronto, the Azores Archipelago means nature and protected environments. There is every shade of green and the lush pastures streaked with blue hydrangea in fields bordered with ferns and flowers. Many flowers sprinkle the slopes running down to the sea. Chestnut, beech and other trees intersperse the remains of the Laurisilva forest that predate human settlement. And there are all the volcanic features of craters and cones, lava flows, cliffs, ravines and caves, fumaroles and lagoons. Those are the natural ingredients to these islands that serve up stunning landscapes framed by the deep blue of the sea beyond.

The Vale das Furnas is one of the highlights of the Azores with its unique landscape endowed with relaxation and romanticism. It is crossed by two fast-flowing streams, one cold and another hot and coloured by the suspended iron it carries.

Nature contains its own details demanding of attention. The yams growing abundantly on the banks of the hot stream, and then there is the obelisk erected on the orders of the Marquis of Praia e Monforte. Caldeiras is where to find another oddity that has inspired many a visitor. This is “natural cooking” at its finest. Try the meat or cod stews cooked volcano style. Truly spectacular!

Make sure you get to the Terra Nostra Park and admire a garden integrated into the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, managed by Bensaude Turismo. Inaugurated in 1933, this was the first formal tourism infrastructure built on these islands.

The gardens date back to the 18th century when the American, Thomas Hickling, decided to make his fortune in São Miguel, arriving here in 1769. Work continued throughout the 19th century in the picturesque parish of Furnas. This creates a romantic vision of serpentine lakes where white swans glide in silence, on twisting ponds with flowers and exotic trees hundreds of years old. It is a silence that renders the garden a true marvel.

Crater lakes and lagoons of breathtaking beauty are another characteristic of S. Miguel.

The Caldeira das Sete Cidades is one of the most beautiful and imposing lakes on the Island of São Miguel, nestling in a crater with a sweeping 12-kilometre perimeter.

The unforgettable picture of the Verde (green) lake and the Azul (blue) lake set off by their surrounding trees and flowers. The shores and small Azul peninsula are ideal for walks and picnics in the most natural of environments.

Within the crater, visit the picturesque village of Sete Cidades with its unusual style of housing and the Neo-gothic 19th century Parish Church surrounded by verdant pastureland and the less spectacular but nearby Santiago lake.

By the Azul lake lies an attractive garden with its orchards and azalea thickets. The viewpoints at Vista do Rei and Cerrado das Freiras provide great panoramas out over the road that runs around the crest of the lush green crater brightened by knots of hydrangeas.

The Fogo lakes are also most impressive. Set down in the crater of an extinct volcano; this huge lake of clear waters even comes with its own beach.

Magnificent views, featuring sea and rolling hills, are everywhere. And you won’t want to miss the Congro and Nenúfares lakes, which may be small in size, but of great natural beauty.

Get beyond the day to day and discover the beauty of the Azores.

Beside the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, Bensaude Turismo owns three more Hotels in São Miguel, Ponta Delgada – Hotel Marina Atlântico, São Miguel Park and Hotel Açores, and, in two other different islands like Faial, the Hotel do Canal, the best hotel in the Island, and in Terceira, the beautiful Terceira Mar Hotel. In the capital of Portugal mainland, Lisbon, the group has also the Hotel Açores Lisboa, offering to the biggest Portuguese city an exotic taste of the islands.

This group also manages also a Travel Agency, a rent-a-car company and buses, making it the most reliable company in Azores, able to offer every request a proper solution.