(CNN) – The journey to heaven on earth does not require a long, arduous or dangerous journey.
In fact, a vague landscape reminiscent of a fairy tale is barely five hours from Boston and about four hours from the United Kingdom. It is a land where waterfalls descend from iridescent green slopes; Where roads are lined with hydrangea hedges; And where the rough shores are covered by black sand beaches.
Lost quality prevails, whether it’s a village of stone dwellings attached to paved roads, or locals who adhere to the old ways of planting crops on fertile plains at the foot of steep cliffs, or ride horse-drawn carts. Deliver the milk to the cheese factory.
Welcome to the Azores, a chain of nine charming islands in the middle of the Atlantic but part of Portugal. The archipelago is an autonomous region located about 1,000 miles from the Portuguese mainland. The island’s thermal pools, lush caldera, crater lakes and steaming geysers all bear witness to the violent volcanic forces that gave birth to them, yet each island has a distinctive character where nature prevails in its wild.
Azores Airlines flies non-stop from Boston to Sao Miguel Island to Lodges on Terceira with year-round stopovers to Ponta Delgada and Ponta Delgada. Both United (from Newark) and Azores Airlines (from JFK, on ​​select days) have summer non-stop service to Ponta Delgada. British Airways serves nonstop, summer on Saturdays.
Here’s what to expect on each island, after heading straight to the archipelago that is far from the world:
Western islands
Flores
Flores is the westernmost island of the Azores. Although its name translates into “flowers”, it is the abundant water that most defines this striking emerald green island that is often shrouded in fog.
There are seven crater lakes that speck out the undulating interior, including the green Lagoa Negra of the forest that sits right next to the Cobalt Blue Lagoa Comprida, with the Miradoro (point of view) completely between them.
Side-by-side Lagoa Negra, on the left, and Lagoa Comprida Flores create stunning views.
Javarman / Adobe stock
Between the lush green cliff walls of the island dripping with waterfalls, the mighty Poko Do Buckalhau walks 300 feet down to a small, swimming pool.
Corvo
With less than 500 inhabitants and a secluded town situated on a single parcel of land above sea level, Corvo is the smallest (and most remote) Azorian island, only four miles long and not even three miles wide.
Bird-watching on small corvo is a popular activity.
Jacob / Adobe stock
Nevertheless, this tiny island (remnant of an ancient volcano about 10 miles north of Flores) is a popular paradise for bird watchers, who especially gravitate here in the fall, hoping to see the yellow-billed cuckoo, Korean sheerwater and many other species. . .
Central Islands
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For hundreds of years, sailing ships have built the capital port of Horta – known for its boldly painted seawall – a stopover involving navigating between the new and old worlds in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Vivid hydrangeas border roads along the route to the western end of the file.
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Sky-blue Hydrangea Border Road and frame house soccer ball-sized globes along the way to the west end of the island. This desolate, monochromatic area is in stark contrast to the buzzing, colorful Horta.
Pico
Mount Pico, about 8,000 feet high, Portugal’s highest peak, dominates the island’s landscape.
Mount Pico is the highest peak in Portugal at 7,713 feet (2,351 m).
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Here, it seems, almost everything is made of black basalt lava stone, including a coral mosaic around the local grape vines that have kept them warm and protected from the island’s dim, salty winds for centuries.
Sao Jorge
Snacking from the landscape of wild heather and Japanese cedar is the scenic footpath that ends at Faja, or the cliff-backed fertile plains that were formed by landslides and ancient lava flows.
One of the most exciting is the Faja de Santo Cristo, accessed by a six-mile-long donkey trail descending from the cloud-covered summit of the Serra de Topo. The route passes through the gates of old watermills and tiny branches to the secluded, waterfront Hamlet Faza de Santo Cristo. Residents grow yams, cabbage, spinach and tomatoes in the terrace gardens.
Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo is a fertile plain at the base of a steep slope.
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This shore attracts surfers who come for point break waves. However, the island is best known for its culinary delights: their tangy cow’s milk cheese.
Graciosa
Many of the signature sites on the Graciosa offer a dramatic education at the island’s volcanic origins.
Ferna do Enxofre is an impressive lava cave on the island of Graciosa.
Stefano / Adobe stock
The bottom view is surreal. Unlike the base pond filled with cold rainwater, the cave air is saturated with the smell of sulfur and the fumarole bubbles and boils at 180 F (82 C). Sunlight is poured into the roof through the oculus, showing yellow crystals that glow from the boulder to the sloping slopes.
Tersera
While Pico’s black basalt gives the island a black and white brushstroke look, Tercera uses the Creola crayon palette in many ways.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site, Angara do Heroismo, features brightly colored historic buildings.
Jose A. Burnett Bassett / Moment RF / Getty Images
On the north coast, the village of Biscoitos traces the origins of its volcanoes in which natural pools of all sizes and depths puncture the hard black lava that spreads over the harbor. Next to this, beach towels, umbrellas and loungers can be taken out one day at sunrise and soaking.
Eastern Islands
Sao Miguel
Ponta Delgada is the capital of the Azores Autonomous Region.
Daliu / Adobe stock
It is home to the world’s oldest commercial pineapple-growing greenhouse and Europe’s oldest operating tea plantation.
One of the island’s most famous landscapes is the Farnas Valley, a dormant pit wrapped in foliage and dripping with memories of its volcanic past, inviting warm springs.
With volcanic sand-filled tree ferns and bunkers, the 18-hole Furnace Golf Club is located 1,700 feet above sea level.
Santa Maria
Santa Maria is the southernmost island of the Azores, with sunlight and golden sand beaches.
Clara Bakalrova / Adobe Stock
Santa Maria, the southernmost of the Azores, is not only the sunniest of the islands, but also the only one with golden sand beaches.
The sea, sky and valleys of the sea and valleys combine at Miradauro da Pedra Reza, creating a beautiful picnic spot. Japanese cedar forests form canopies along zig-zagging roads, sometimes along roads surrounded by Azorian blueberries and small orchids.
The village of Sઓo Lorenco is especially popular in summer for its photogenic sandy stretch backed by tapestry of old vineyards surrounded by black lava stone walls.
Jeanine Baron is a New York City-based travel writer who specializes in Portugal and has frequently visited the Azores.