The must-sees
Twenty places that come up in every guide to the archipelago — beaches, colonial towns, a volcano, valleys and mountain roads — placed on their island, explained in a sentence, and linked to the full guide for each one.
Cape Verde isn't one destination, it's nine destinations so unlike each other that it's hard to believe they belong to the same country. An island of dunes, an island of volcano, an island of music, an island of trails. This page brings together the twenty places you find in every guidebook, not as a checklist but as a map: which island has what, and what kind of trip each one belongs to.
They're not evenly spread, and that's the most useful thing to know when you're planning a route: five of these twenty places are on São Nicolau alone, an island almost nobody visits. Click a bar to keep only that island.
Number of selected places per island, out of 20. One series, one colour; the selected island turns coral and its name goes bold.
Filter by island or by interest. All twenty cards stay on the page: the filter only hides what doesn't match.
The liveliest town in the archipelago looks out over a splendid bay, between beautifully preserved colonial houses and colourful hills. A carnival, a music festival, and tocatinhas improvised in the bars almost every night.
Why goTo understand where Cape Verdean music comes from, and hear it where it's still played.
Like a mirage at the edge of the ocean: a vast wild beach of white sand stretching to the horizon, in front of every shade of blue. No buildings, no parasols.
Why goFor the sheer scale — and because the wind turns it into a playground for watersports.
São Nicolau's little capital lines up narrow streets and well-preserved houses at the bottom of a green valley. This is where a seminary trained the country's elite in the 19th century.
Why goFor the cradle of Cape Verdean literature, in a mountain setting.
Six kilometres from the fishing port of Tarrafal, an exceptional white-sand beach with dunes and blocks of basalt columns set right at the water's edge.
Why goTo swim in crystal-clear water, more or less on your own.
The first colonial town built by Europeans in the tropics, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An essential place of remembrance in the history of the enslavement and trafficking of African peoples.
Why goBecause you can't understand Cape Verde, or the Atlantic, without having been here.
A majestic, lush valley thick with fields of sugar cane, yams, cassava, bananas and coffee. Naturally, it's also a stronghold of grogue.
Why goTo walk between the farming terraces and visit the island's traditional distilleries.
The cobbled road linking the south and north of Santo Antão like a bridge thrown across the void, with its many hairpin bends and breathtaking views as it skirts the precipices.
Why goFor the grand experience of the crossing, switchback after spectacular switchback.
The historic centre of the capital, perched above the sea, feels like a place frozen in time: colonial architecture, a bandstand in the middle of the square, a bustling market and restaurants.
Why goFor the bustle of the market and the end of the day on the square.
Right next to Maio's capital, a beach that runs for several kilometres. The tide leaves big pools that are perfect for paddling, and the shade of the cliff brings a coolness that invites a nap.
Why goFor a huge beach with nobody on it, ten minutes from the town centre.
One of the oldest towns in Cape Verde. The old mansions of the merchant class still stand, as majestic as ever, along tree-lined cobbled streets that tumble down to the sea. A festival of colour.
Why goFor the sobrados with their blue and pink façades, and the view of Brava at sunset.
On a damp plateau at 520 m, Brava's little capital hides a genuine tropical garden in its hinterland, where pastel-toned colonial houses and lush vegetation explode with colour.
Why goFor the greenest and most discreet island in the archipelago — the one almost nobody goes to.
Island guide coming soon
Created by the collapse of a still-active volcano, the park unfolds a fascinating landscape of black lava and vines, where the inhabitants have adapted their way of life to the conditions nature imposes.
Why goFor the country's highest point, at 2,829 m, and the villages rebuilt on the 2014 lava flow.
The lighthouse guarding the entrance to Mindelo's Porto Grande, set on its rocky islet facing the town.
Why goFor the panoramic view over the whole bay.
The town's covered market, with its inner courtyard crammed with fruit, vegetables and fabrics, and its upstairs gallery overlooking all the activity.
Why goTo have a drink upstairs and watch the market from above.
The big beach in the south of Sal, and above all its pier, where the fishermen come back at the end of the day in brightly painted boats.
Why goFor the ballet of colourful boats coming home with the catch.
A cliff sculpted by erosion on the coast of São Nicolau, where the layers of soft rock have taken the shape of frozen waves, arches and folds.
Why goTo marvel at a genuine work of natural art.
The park protecting the summit of São Nicolau and its damp slopes, one of the few refuges of the archipelago's endemic flora.
Why goTo wander among plant species found nowhere else on Earth.
On an island where sugar cane grows in almost every valley, eating is also a matter of distilling: pontche, grogue sweetened with cane honey, is served everywhere.
Why goTo taste pontche made a few kilometres from your plate.
An old crater flooded by the sea and turned into salt pans, where the water is so dense you float without any effort, as in the Dead Sea.
Why goTo enjoy the benefits of the salt water by simply floating.
Opposite Boa Vista's main town, an islet and shallow waters where corals and turtles can be reached without a dive tank.
Why goFor an underwater ramble with mask and snorkel, among the corals and turtles.
No place matches this combination. Go back to All islands or All.
| No. | Place | Island | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Mindelo | São Vicente | Towns & villages |
| 02 | Praia de Santa Mónica | Boa Vista | Beaches |
| 03 | Vila da Ribeira Brava | São Nicolau | Towns & villages |
| 04 | Praia de Baixo de Rocha | São Nicolau | Beaches |
| 05 | Cidade Velha | Santiago | Towns & villages |
| 06 | Ribeira de Paúl | Santo Antão | Nature & volcanoes |
| 07 | Estrada da Corda | Santo Antão | Roads & viewpoints |
| 08 | The Platô, in Praia | Santiago | Towns & villages |
| 09 | Praia Ponta Preta | Maio | Beaches |
| 10 | São Filipe | Fogo | Towns & villages |
| 11 | Nova Sintra | Brava | Towns & villages |
| 12 | Pico do Fogo and its natural park | Fogo | Nature & volcanoes |
| 13 | Farol Dona Amélia | São Vicente | Roads & viewpoints |
| 14 | Mindelo's Mercado Municipal | São Vicente | Taste & live |
| 15 | Santa Maria | Sal | Beaches |
| 16 | Carbeirinho | São Nicolau | Nature & volcanoes |
| 17 | Parque Natural do Monte Gordo | São Nicolau | Nature & volcanoes |
| 18 | The restaurants of São Nicolau | São Nicolau | Taste & live |
| 19 | The Pedra de Lume salt pans | Sal | Taste & live |
| 20 | Sal Rei and its islet | Boa Vista | Taste & live |
The real constraint in Cape Verde isn't distance, it's the number of domestic flights. Every island you add costs half a day of transfers. Here's what honestly fits into one week, into two, and beyond.
With seven days, two islands seen properly beat a parade of airports. The most complete pair:
These two are linked by ferry, not by plane: no wasted transfer. The seven-day itinerary on foot lays out this week day by day.
Fourteen days let you add the south: Santiago for Cidade Velha and the Platô, Fogo for the volcano, and a beach — Sal or Boa Vista — to finish.
This is when you go where the plane hardly ever goes: São Nicolau, which alone holds five of the twenty places on this page, Maio and its deserted beaches, and Brava, which can only be reached by boat from Fogo.
The twenty places above don't speak to the same traveller. Here are four ways of reading the same list.
Five of the twenty places are trailheads or trail crossings: the Ribeira de Paúl and the Estrada da Corda in Santo Antão, Monte Gordo in São Nicolau, Pico do Fogo, and Carbeirinho, which you can reach on foot from the coast. Santo Antão and Fogo are the two promised lands for walkers — their trails are gathered with the sixteen others in the catalogue of Cape Verde hikes, along with mountain guides and accommodation spaced out along the routes.
Four beaches make this selection, and none of them is alike: Santa Mónica on Boa Vista is a beach of scale and wind, Santa Maria on Sal a beach of life and fishermen, Praia de Baixo de Rocha on São Nicolau an almost deserted white-sand cove, and Ponta Preta on Maio miles of sand where the tide leaves warm pools. Add the Pedra de Lume salt pans and the Sal Rei islet if you want to get your head under water.
Six towns and villages are on the list. Cidade Velha, on Santiago, is the country's only UNESCO World Heritage Site; São Filipe on Fogo and Vila da Ribeira Brava on São Nicolau have kept their colonial architecture intact; Nova Sintra, on Brava, is a tropical garden perched at 520 m. And Mindelo, on São Vicente, is the town where Cape Verdean music is still played every night — where morna and coladeira come from is a story in its own right.
A single place, but it takes up an entire island: the Parque Natural do Fogo, born of the collapse of a still-active volcano. You sleep inside the caldera, at Chã das Caldeiras, in houses rebuilt after the 2014 eruption — the practical handbook lists the handful of addresses — and you climb the Pico at 2,829 m, the highest point in the country.
Six questions that come up every time, with short answers.
Two islands, and two islands only. The combination that pays off best is São Vicente and Santo Antão, because they're linked by a ferry of about an hour: you don't lose a single day to air transfers. That gives you Mindelo, its market and its lighthouse on one side; the Estrada da Corda, the Ribeira de Paúl and the trails on the other.
An alternative if you'd rather have volcano than music: Santiago and Fogo, linked by a short flight.
There's no single answer, because the islands aren't playing in the same league. Santo Antão comes up most often among walkers, for its terraced valleys and its trails. Fogo wins for raw landscape, with its caldera and active volcano. Boa Vista and Sal win on beaches, São Vicente on urban atmosphere, and Brava on greenery.
So the real criterion is what you're coming for — and that's exactly why the twenty places on this page are sorted by interest as much as by island.
Yes, just one: Cidade Velha, on the island of Santiago. It's the first colonial town built by Europeans in the tropics, and a major place of remembrance in the history of the enslavement and trafficking of African peoples. You can visit it from Praia, about fifteen kilometres away.
Yes. The ascent of Pico do Fogo, at 2,829 m, is the most iconic hike in the archipelago. It starts from Chã das Caldeiras, inside the caldera, and is usually done with a guide: the climb through the ash is steep and the descent is a run down the lapilli slope.
It isn't a stroll: plan to start early, carry plenty of water and tell someone you're setting off — the mountain safety guidelines aren't a formality in Cape Verde, where there is no mountain rescue service.
The dry season runs from November to July (the seven-day forecast island by island gives the detail for the days ahead), with steady wind from December to March — ideal for watersports, less so for sunbathing. From August to October it's hotter and more humid, with brief showers; it's also the greenest time of year, and by far the best for hiking in Santo Antão.
Whatever happens, book well in advance if you're aiming for June to August, when the Cape Verdean diaspora comes home.
Not everywhere. A rental car is useful on Boa Vista, Sal, São Vicente and Santiago, where you'll want to explore inland. It's frankly not recommended on Santo Antão and Fogo : the mountain roads there demand a level of skill few visitors have, and thealuguer — the shared taxi that leaves when it's full — does the job very well. The transport section of the practical handbook explains how it works.