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This collection of photos traces our 2025 expedition to the Azores, an archipelago of nine volcanic islands about 1,000 miles off the west coast of Portugal. We traveled there with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions as we have on many of our adventures, exploring seven of the islands over almost two weeks.
The Azores (or Açores in Portuguese) is today an autonomous region of Portugal. It was discovered by Portuguese navigator Diogo de Silves around 1427 and settled by colonists by the 1440's.
The islands became a major stopping point for ships crossing the north Atlantic, starting with Columbus on his return from discovering America and continuing through WWII; after that it became an important air refueling station for the US Air Force.
Today the islands are have active agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, and fishing industries, and more recently have developed a bustling tourism business.
The islands are beautiful, with many volcanoes both active and dormant, rugged mountains, hilly grasslands and fields, and many small villages. They have a population of about 220,000 people and 250,000 cows!