SANTO ANTAO
Featured Hikes
Featured Packages
Why Santo Antao Island?
Guided walking, hiking and trekking tours on Santo Antao is the best way to see this dramatically beautiful island; here at Santo Antao Tours we offer the most varied walking routes and trails in Cape Verde. Ponta do Sol (fishing town) and the Vale do Paul (a dazzlingly lush valley near Vila das Pombas) are on the North coast – it’s a scenically impressive drive west from Porto Nova ferry. Santo Antao Tours offers guided walks, hiking and trekking tours on Santo Antao which gives you the opportunity to explore and enjoy fantastic lush scenery.
Santo Antao Island, Cape Verde is a subtropical climate, rich in vegetation with high mountains, valleys, and a dramatic coastline. Extinct volcanic crater, great bird-watching and wildlife is just the start! Santo Antao offers authentic charm, peace and quiet, and of course, lots of culture – from steep agricultural terraces and villages to small local restaurants with music and above all, friendly local people.
Nature – Santo Antao Island
Santo Antão Island Natural protected areas include Moroços Natural Park, Cova/Ribeira Paúl/Torre Natural Park, Cruzinha Natural Reserve, Pombas Protected Landscape and Tope de Coroa Natural Park.
Wildlife species of Cape Verde have evolved over millions of years of isolation; one you are very likely to see is the grey-headed kingfisher and hear the Cape Verde swamp-warbler and Iago sparrow, which are endemic species. Seabirds breeding on the island include Fea’s petrel, Frigatebird, and the Red-tailed tropicbird. In the valleys and cultivated land you will see date and coconut palms, mango and carob trees, citrus, almond, papaya and orange trees. Maize, pineapples, coffee and manioc are cultivated on the steep mountainsides on terraced fields that consist partly of black lava soil and partly of white “pozzolana”; you can usually buy coffee beans here from local producers. The fragrance of eucalyptus, lavender and even lotus blossoms often hangs in the air. Acacia, wild figs and dragon trees line the roads in many places.
Places to visit on santo Antao
Paúl valley is one of the greenest valleys in the whole country, full of waterfalls, running water in the streams and valleys, green valleys full of sugar cane, yams, mango trees, papaya trees, banana trees and other pleasant fruit trees, the name paul valley comes from an African dialect that means the mother of water, this is because of the large amount of water found in this valley, this valley attracts dozens of visitors every day who venture out to discover the beauty of its landscape and the hospitality of its residents
A beautiful valley covered with green, with amazings landscapes where the slopes are used for agriculture. to benefits its inhabitants. It is possible to do the full tour starting at the Covas Crater, from which there is a very steep and full of curves descend into the proper paúl valley, or explore only the inhabited part of the valley. The latter alternative is more suitable for begginers.
Cova is a big volcanic crater in the eastcentral part of Santo Antão island. This crater is located in the extreme southwest of Planalto leste and Paul valley. Its higgest point is located in 1,400 meters and the lowest point is 1,166 meters. The diameter of this volcano crater is about 1.000 m and where local residents take advantage of practicing agriculture due to the large amount of water residing in the subsoil of the cova crater, during the year they grow corn, beans, sugar cane, among other vegetables and vegetables, in addition this crater provides drinking water for neighboring communities that almost every day they go down to fetch water from donkeys.
Ribeira da Torre valley is located in a green valley of Ribeira Grande, Ribeira da Torre is one of the biggest and best valleys in Santo Antão island, it offers to its visitors a magnificent landscape and pure air ful and rich in vegetation.
This valley is the one that produces the most vegetables on the island, it can be crossed by foot or by car due to a network of side paths for tourism and local residents, it is very common to find waterfalls here throughout the year. year due to its location at the foot of Cova Caldera that supplies underground water all year round. There is small-scale agriculture along the valley, producing sugar cane, mangos, yam, banana, papaya.
Century-old village that marked the beginning of the settlement and economic development of the island of Santo Antao, in the 19th century this city attracted Jewish citizens from Morocco due to strong political and religious inquisition. Today it is possible to visit the Jewish cemetery, the houses of the Jewish merchants, the colonial church, the old aerodrome and the old pier, Boca da Pistola, these are the vestiges of the heyday of this city.
Today Ponta do Sol represents one of the most sought after cities on the island due to its location by the sea Here you find more hotels and restaurants available for your holliday on the island.
We always recommend to stay in Ponta do Sol so that you can be closer to the hikes and there are many options regarding restaurants.
Here is a recommendation on where to stay:
- Residencial Sol Point Art– Tel. +2389550532 or by solpointart@gmail.com website:www.solpointart.com