The fascination of the Azores: In the Azores, several belvederes over the ocean offer unforgettable splendid views of the coastline, the bays, the country side, lagoons, volcano craters, fumaroles, water springs, and fields of real quietness and free of pollution. Exuberant vegetation and a great variety of trees, including endemic species, like field cedar and “vinhático” (a kind of Brazilian wood), grow in this fertile soil. Outstanding are a great variety of flowers, namely hydrangeas and azaleas. The magnificent vegetation, along with the tea and tobacco plantations, confers such colour and diversity to the landscape that each visitor, especially those who are photography lovers, is enchanted by the tones that nature offers. In the Azorean fauna, the dominant species are the rabbit and a great variety of birds: kite, ring-dove and rocky pigeon, canary, and several seabirds, as different kinds of seagull, and sea swallows.
Rich in fish species, the sea in the Azores is much favourable to sport fishing. It also offers the possibility of dolphins, sperm-whales, whales and other cetaceans watching, with the help of some specialised companies.
Several natural reserves, sponsored by the Regional Government, preserve nature, landscape, fauna and flora of the islands. Typical housing, windmills of Flemish origin, churches, chapels and other monuments are a testimony of the living past of the Azores. The Azorean gastronomy is plenty, varying with the habits of each island of the archipelago. The wines are specially known and qualified.
Due to the isolation suffered for many years, the Azoreans developed singular manual working techniques, visible in the handicraft: pieces of whale tooth and whale bone, fish scales, wood, pottery, basaltic stone, maize leaf and fig tree pith.
The Azorean popular traditions are displayed in songs, dances, bullfighting ("touradas à corda" in Terceira Island), typical costumes and processions, which reflect the religious feelings of this kind and welcoming people.