S. Miguel Island is in the eastern part of the archipelago, has 137.699 inhabitants, just over half of the entire Azores population. The main economic activity on the island is the production of dairy products. Isolated in the Atlantic, it is ~2 hours by plane from Lisbon, and almost 5 hours from the USA.
The landscape is difficult to describe. The archipelago, all formed by volcanic activity, had a large part of the current vegetation and fauna introduced by the people who settled there since the 15th century.
Its settlement began in 1444 in Povoação and then in Vila Franca do Campo, the island's first capital, later transferred to Ponta Delgada, currently also the seat of the Regional Government of the Azores.
But to discover the so-called “green island”, we have to leave the capital and find true nature. This mountainous island, composed of two volcanic massifs separated by a low-lying central mountain range, has the highest point, Pico da Vara at 1105m, which is located in the eastern massif.
To visit the island of S. Miguel it is important to rent a car, as for most places there is no public transport.When leaving the airport there are several houses for renting cars to later enjoy visiting the entire island.
The ideal time to visit the whole island is 1 week.
