If you fancy yourself a modern adventurer a la Indiana Jones or the “Most Interesting Man in the World”—you know, the type that likes to “skyak” or go on dome safaris—you’ve probably come to enjoy an array of spots. Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks in the States; Patagonia in southern Chile; and the jungle zip lines of Costa Rica. But according to Bloomberg Pursuits, there’s a new kid on the block, when it comes to adventure travel that you might not be so familiar with: the Azores, an autonomous Portuguese region and archipelago, consisting of nine volcanic islands.
What’s the draw? Well, for one, the usual barrage of tourists, who seem to literally be overtaking other adventure travel spots like Iceland, haven’t discovered it yet. Also, Azores Airlines is offering direct flights in 2017 from North American hubs Boston and Toronto to nearby Funchal—the capital of Portugal’s second autonomous region, Madeira—so it’ll be altogether easier to find your way there. (The airline also offers dirt-cheap connections from the Azores’ Punta Delgada, for instance, to Barcelona, Spain. Tickets start at about $210.)
Most importantly, though, what the island group has to offer to adventure-seekers is both exciting and unusual. São Miguel Island, the town of Furnas—like Yellowstone National Park—boasts a number of geysers and hot springs, as well as spa/hydrotherapy baths (like Terra Nostra Garden). Pico Island, on the other hand, is all about hiking—specifically, up its various volcanos.
For more on why the Azores should be your next adventure travel target, read Bloomberg’s full story here. Below, watch a video from Red Bull shot on the Azores, which includes one of its most popular adventure sports: cliff diving.
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