Portugal Vacations: Sao Jorge Azores

Sao Jorge Azores

Last week I told you about the island of terceira. Sao Jorge (St. George in English) is a knife shaped island in the center of the Azores, approximately 17 km northeast of the island of Pico. Sao Jorge is approximately 56 kilometers in length and only 8 kilometers wide with a total area of about 248 sq, making it the fourth largest of the Azores islands. It is a sparsely populated island with approximately 10 thousand inhabitants. In the 15th Century, many Flemish families migrated to the island of Sao Jorge and integrated with the existing Portuguese population at the time.

Most of the island is above 300m and is noted for it's sheer cliff walls to the North. The average height of the central ridges is approximately 700m and many of the coastal cliffs are as high as 400m. The vast majority of the Sao Jorge population reside on the south part of the island. Sao Jorge is a great place for those who are looking to escape from it all, it is indeed a a place where tourism has yet to form. Many of the residents here still live a very rural existence with agriculture being the main economic engine. Possibly the most famous of all things coming from the island of Sao Jorge is it's famous cheese. St. Jorge cheese is famous for its full bodied spicy flavor and should not be missed on your next travels through the Azores.

I hope you enjoyed this brief overview of the Island of Sao Jorge Azores. Please come back again as we explore the other islands of the Azores on Portugal Vacations.