Afrinkong
Ten Islands, Ten Climates
Desert dunes on Boa Vista and cloud forest on Santo Antao, in the same archipelago.
Islands · Afrinkong
Cabo Verde
Ten islands, and the morna.
Ten Atlantic islands six hundred kilometres off Senegal: Fogo is an active volcano with vineyards inside the caldera, Santo Antao is cut into ribeiras you walk down, and the morna that Cesaria Evora sang is on the UNESCO list.
Where it is
Africa · Islands · Cabo Verde
The land in brief
- Spans
- 30 km E–W, 40 km N–S
- Latitude
- About 15°N
- Borders
- None — it is an island
- Nearest land
- about 580 km
- Best time
- November to May. The wind for kitesurfing on Sal and Boa Vista is strongest from December to March.
Also in the islands
ComorosAn active volcano, and the fish that came back from the deadMadagascarAn island that evolved aloneMauritiusReef, sugar and the volcanic interiorSao Tome and PrincipeTwo volcanic islands and a lot of cocoaSeychellesGranite islands in the Indian Ocean
Compare Cabo Verde with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
November to May. The wind for kitesurfing on Sal and Boa Vista is strongest from December to March.
01Highlights
What Cabo Verde is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Turtles and Humpbacks
Boa Vista is one of the largest loggerhead nesting sites in the world.
Mountains
Pico do Fogo and Santo Antao
Fogo's cone, and Santo Antao's ridges where the paths run along the crest.
Sal, Boa Vista and Tarrafal
White sand and constant wind on Sal and Boa Vista, and quiet bays on Santiago.
The Cloud Forest of Santo Antao
The north of Santo Antao catches enough cloud to grow coffee and dragon trees.
Creole, and the Morna
A Portuguese-African creole culture, and a music that put these islands on the map.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Cabo Verde with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Ten Islands, Ten ClimatesDesert dunes on Boa Vista and cloud forest on Santo Antao, in the same archipelago.
- Pico do Fogo and Santo AntaoFogo's cone, and Santo Antao's ridges where the paths run along the crest.
- Seasonal OnlyThe rain comes in August and September, and the ribeiras run for a few weeks.
- RibeirasSteep valleys terraced for sugarcane and coffee, and irrigated by hand-cut channels.
- Sal, Boa Vista and TarrafalWhite sand and constant wind on Sal and Boa Vista, and quiet bays on Santiago.
- The Cloud Forest of Santo AntaoThe north of Santo Antao catches enough cloud to grow coffee and dragon trees.
Wildlife
- Turtles and HumpbacksBoa Vista is one of the largest loggerhead nesting sites in the world.
- Sea, Not SavannaNo large land animals. What there is instead is turtles, whales and seabirds.
- Turtle Patrols on Boa VistaCommunity and NGO patrols on the nesting beaches, and the numbers have recovered.
- Walking Santo AntaoCobbled paths from the ridge down to the sea, a day at a time, between villages.
People and culture
- Creole, and the MornaA Portuguese-African creole culture, and a music that put these islands on the map.
- The Badiu and the SampadjuduThe Santiago interior and the northern islands, with different histories and different music.
- Mindelo Carnival and Baia das GatasCarnival in February and a music festival on the beach in August.
- Pottery, Panu and GrogueThe panu woven cloth of Santiago, Fogo's pottery, and cane spirit stills.
- Cachupa and GrogueCachupa — the slow-cooked maize and bean stew — and grogue distilled from cane.
- Beaches and Short FlightsCalm water on Sal and Boa Vista, short hops between islands, and a very easy pace.
- The Bar at MidnightMindelo's bars start late and the morna does not begin until they are full.
Places
- Praia and MindeloA clifftop capital on Santiago, and the port city on Sao Vicente where the music lives.
- Portuguese Colonial and Volcanic StonePastel colonial in Mindelo, and black volcanic stone houses on Fogo.
- Cidade VelhaThe first European colonial town in the tropics, founded in 1462, with the fort above it.
- Cidade Velha, ListedInscribed in 2009 — the pillory, the cathedral ruins and the street plan of the first town.
Ways to travel
- Kitesurfing and Ridge WalkingSal and Boa Vista for wind, and Santo Antao for some of the best walking in the Atlantic.
- Well EstablishedResorts on Sal and Boa Vista, and small good hotels on Santo Antao and Fogo.
- Volcano and VineCha das Caldeiras at first light, with vines growing in black ash under the cone.
- BravaThe smallest inhabited island, reached only by boat, with flowers and no airport worth the name.
03Why go
The case for Cabo Verde.
Why Visit This Country
Why Cabo Verde
An active volcano with vineyards in it, ridge walking above the Atlantic, and the morna.
Hidden Gems
Brava
The smallest inhabited island, reached only by boat, with flowers and no airport worth the name.
Eco Tourism
Turtle Patrols on Boa Vista
Community and NGO patrols on the nesting beaches, and the numbers have recovered.
Heritage
Cidade Velha, Listed
Inscribed in 2009 — the pillory, the cathedral ruins and the street plan of the first town.
04Go deeper
All of Cabo Verde, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Cabo Verde starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.