The Most Remote Place in Northern Atlantic - Corvo

“Do you realise where we are?” How remote is this place? To get here from our hometown we had to take a bus, hop on a train & then shuttle to an airport. Fly Vienna to Lisbon. Lisbon to Ponta Delgada. Then board a small ATR plane to Sao Miguel Island & fly to Pico Island. Board an even tinnier plane &  fly to Flores - and now we are on a freaking zodiac boat making our way to an island where 1200 cows and 400 people live on a hundred thousand-old crater. Bonkers.

These were the words I said to my friend Lukas while driving on a speed boat from Flores to Corvo in the northern Atlantic. Our boat jumped on a few meters tall waves, salty water splashing right into our eyes. I wore sunglasses to protect my eyes, but Lukas was getting mopped every second. Seagulls are flying around us, welcoming us to this fascinating place, located just in the middle of nowhere. 

When looking at Corvo from Flores the day before, I felt like I was in Narnia staring at the island no one had discovered before. This ranks as my top travel experience. 

What's Corvo?

Corvo Island is a unique place, so remote and untouched that it’s hard to believe it exists and is inhabited. Formed over 730,000 years ago, this tiny volcanic island covers only 17 square kilometers and is home to just around 400 people. Life here is simple and isolated, as residents must fly to neighboring islands or the mainland for medical check-ups, job opportunities, and many daily needs. The island’s most known attraction is the Caldeira do Corvo, a large volcanic crater about 3.7 kilometers wide and over 400,000 years old.

The flight from Corvo to Flores, just a short hop over 20 kilometers, is one of the shortest commercial flights in the world. 6 minutes to be exact. We had no choice as ferries were not operational on the day of our leave and we experienced this flight.

There is hardly much else to be added about how unique and special Corvo is. Given that Corvo, similarly to Flores is located in the western Azores, it often gets hit by bad weather.

We hiked the Caldeira in the early morning of day 2. Simply booked a cab in the early morning and got up there as the first people of the day. The ridge hike is beautiful but a bit scary and wouldn't recommend it to anyone with fears of heights. The view of the Caldeira & the neverending Atlantic Ocean right behind it is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.

While many people do the day trip from Flores on the boats and come back. We have decided to take our chances and stay overnight. Not like there is much to do on Corvo. This island's resources are limited and the few people who inhabit this island know everything about one another.

1 gas station, 1 hotel, 1 restaurant. Not much to choose from. But that may be a blessing in disguise. We came here with only 1 goal - to hike the Caldeira. Anything on top of that was a welcome bonus. As we reached the harbor on the boat - we have decided to walk to our hotel as it was fairly closeby. Harbour was right next to the airport which was right next to the restaurant which was right next to the gas station that was right by the police department. Entire town in 1 street. Exciting.

We gave a try to the local restaurant and enjoyed watching the sunset right over the airport strip.

What came next was a great surprise. As the weather may be unstable - we got lucky. The night was bright. We could have seen a sky so bright unlike anywhere else. I've seen the bright skies in the mountains, deserts, and forests..but nothing tops the remoteness of this island. We also went for a beautiful midnight ocean dip at a low tide under the stars. The color of the Atlantic here was incredible. Turquoise.

Spending time in a place like Corvo always makes me think about the fundamentals of travel.

Do we need to be visiting the most beautiful, best known & busiest places to feel like we travel?

Contrary, isn't the opposite beauty of travel?

Going to places where tourists are in a minority. Where you have no choice but to adapt to the lives of locals. Where you don't have to hunt for the perfect picture or a Michelin meal.

To me, authenticity is the true essence of travel.