Santo Antão
The mountain island at the north-west end of Cape Verde, an hour by ferry from Mindelo, where footpaths run down from a volcanic crater into the green valley of Paul and along the cliffs to Fontainhas.
- Arrival
- São Vicente, Cesária Évora · VXE
- To the island
- About one hour by ferry from Mindelo to Porto Novo
- Private jets
- VXE, open 06:00 to 22:00, customs on site
- Best time
- All year
The city
A crater, a valley and the cliff path.
Santo Antão is the island people come to for walking. Its interior is a mass of volcanic peaks and ravines, and the classic route starts at the rim of the Cova crater and drops into the Paul valley, which runs down to the sea. Further west, Campo Redondo has bare, moon-like valleys.
There is no airport any more; the one the island had closed in the 1990s. Everyone comes over on the ferry from Mindelo and lands at Porto Novo, the dry southern port. On the north coast, Ponta do Sol is the starting point for the cliff path that many walkers rate the best on the island.
- Cova to Paul A walk from the floor of an old volcanic crater down into the cultivated valley of Paul and the village of Eito.
- Corvo to Fontainhas The north-coast trail between two hamlets above the Atlantic, with Fontainhas also reachable from Ponta do Sol.
- Campo Redondo High, barren valleys in the west of the island that look more like the moon than the tropics.
Arriving
Fly to São Vicente, cross by sea.
Visitors fly into Cesária Évora airport on São Vicente, outside Mindelo, and takes the CV Interilhas ferry across the channel to Porto Novo. The crossing is about an hour, and tickets can be booked online.
- Dakar 1 h 30
- Marrakech 3 h 25
- Barbados 5 h 05
- San Juan 5 h 55
- Dubai 11 h 00 long-range jet
When to go
All year round.
Porto Novo, on the sheltered south coast, sees almost no rain: most months bring ten millimetres or less, and September, the wettest, about 35. Afternoons are about 22 °C in winter and 27 °C in late summer. The sea is between 22 and 26 °C.
- 22° J 10 23°
- 22° F 8 22°
- 23° M 1 22°
- 23° A 5 22°
- 24° M 9 23°
- 25° J 3 24°
- 25° J 2 24°
- 27° A 6 26°
- 27° S 35 26°
- 26° O 24 26°
- 25° N 10 26°
- 23° D 11 24°
Elsewhere in Cape Verde
More reasons to come.
- Sal Salt pans in an old crater, and the beach of Santa Maria.
- Boa Vista Dunes and empty beaches, with loggerhead turtles nesting in summer.
- Praia The capital on Santiago, near Cidade Velha, the first colonial town in the tropics.
- Mindelo The harbour town of São Vicente, home of its music.
- Fogo A volcano still active, with vines growing in its crater.
Flying to Santo Antão?
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