Discovering the winward islands : Santo Antao, Sao Nicolau, Sal

You have to get up early this morning! Hiking shoes on, you take the ferry that connects Sao Vicente to Santo Antao, the garden of Cape Verde (1 hour crossing). A paradise for hikers, Santo Antao is crossed by a mountain range interspersed with sumptuous valleys, arid on its southern slope and lush on its northern slope. Upon your arrival in Porto Novo, a private driver will be waiting to transfer you to the circus of Ribeira das Patas. Defining in a way, the western and eastern parts of Santo Antão, this sparsely populated valley offers striking landscapes. For this first walk, you will walk through desert landscapes, torn by a small canyon, before climbing to the ridges dominated by basalt peaks that can reach several metres high, known as "the dykes". Descent into the valley of Ribeira Alta on the lush green north side of sugar cane and banana plantations. Transfer to your accommodation.

Walk : Curral das Vacas > Alto Mira | 3h30 | 8 km - 5 miles | Elevation : +600m/-500m
Meals included: breakfast, dinner
Night : Ribeira das Patas

This morning, the wall called Bordeira do Norte, which overlooks the circus of Ribeira das Patas, will be your challenge. Hiking in an alpine ambiance, it is probably one of the most beautiful trails of the archipelago. The path winds its way up along ochre-coloured rocks. Along the way you may meet some locals and their donkeys who come to fill their water cans in unlikely springs. On the plateau, the landscape changes radically: vast stretches of land as far as the eye can see. Take the time to admire this landscape that embraces the heights of the island up to Porto Novo through the Tope de Corea, the highest peak of the island which culminates at 1979 m. Descend to the village by an almost vertical majestic paved path, a true masterpiece, all the way to your accommodation.

Walk : Cirio > Bordeira do Norte > Cirio | 4h30 | 13 km - 8 miles | Elevation : +900m/-900m
Meals included : breakfast, dinner
Night : Ribeira das Patas

Today you continue your journey northwards through the fertile valleys of the island to explore another facet of Santo Antao.  The taxi will drop you off at the Cova Crater, in the heart of the large natural park of the same name. Cova's dormant volcano is a huge crater that has collapsed in on itself, with a bottom lined with crops and wild flowers. In good weather the panorama is splendid. You can take a few steps in the crater before starting your hike through the pine and mimosa forests to finally plunge into the Ribeira da Torre, one of the steepest and most spectacular valleys on the island. On the last part of the itinerary, you will enjoy the terraced crops of bananas and sugar cane. Transfer to your accommodation located in the seaside village of Vila das Pombas (standard accommodation) or at the bottom of the very lush Paul Valley (comfort accomodatoin)

Walk : Cova Crater > Ribeira da Torre > Xoxo hamlet | 4h | 7 km - 4 miles | Elevation : +50m/-1250m
Meals included : breakfast, dinner
Night : Vila das Pombas (standard accommodation) or Paul valley (comfort accommodation)

Transfer to Boca de Figueiral where starts you hike of the day. A magnificent trail to discover the agricultural world of the island. Following the river beds and the traditional hamlets, let yourself be carried away by the sound of the water flowing here and there in small levadas which come to irrigate the innumerable tropical crops: banana plantations, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, yam fields, breadfruit trees... Everything seems to grow effortlessly here and in abundance. And yet it is indeed the men and women who work hard on each cultivated plot, sometimes in places only accessible on foot. The path ascents to reach the pass where the panoramic view over the valley and the ocean is breathtaking. At the end of the walk, make a stop at the bar O Curral in the village of Cha de Joao Vaz. There you can enjoy a traditional rum or a traditional goat's cheese if you are peckish! Return by taxi to your accommodation.

Walk : Boca de Figueiral > Pico Antonia > Cha de Joao Vaz | 3h45 | 6 km - 4 miles | Elevation : +500m/-200m
Meals included : breakfast, dinner
Night : Vila das Pombas (standard accommodation) or Paul valley (comfort accommodation)

This morning you exchange the peacefulness of the mountains for the seaside and the fishing village of Ponta do Sol, the island's former flourishing port. There reigns a nonchalant (and not unpleasant!) atmosphere as you stroll along the cobbled streets lined with colourful or colonial houses. Here one lives to the rhythm of fishing and a stormy sea. Take the time to stop on the port to observe the colourful boats that battle against the waves to finally land lobsters, blackbirds, moray eels .... But Ponta do Sol is also the starting point of one of the most spectacular trails of the island: a paved coastal path, dug in the volcanic walls. A real human feat! It will lead you first to the village of Fontainhas with its colourful houses perched on a promontory and then to the forgotten hamlets of Corvo and Formiguinhas, where time seems to have stood still. The path continues up high, in a succession of ascents and descents to the magnificent and wild black sand beach of Mocho (caution: swimming is forbidden as the sea is very dangerous) and then to the village of Cruzinha where your taxi is waiting for you. Transfer back to Ponta do Sol.

Walk : Ponta do Sol > Fontainhas > Cruzinha | 5h | 15 km - 9 miles | Elevation : +650m/-650m
Meals included : breakfast, 
Night : Ponta do Sol

Transfer to Coculi, one of the historical centres of the great central valleys. You go up the small bucolic valley of Figueiral, before exploring the valleys of Joao Afonso and Cha de Pedras. An agricultural region dotted with lively hamlets, terraces with tropical crops such as banana, coffee, cassava and cabbage. After this superb farewell hike on Santo Antao, transfer to the port of Porto Novo via the panoramic road "Estrada da Corda". This paved road, built by hand, stone by stone for nearly 30 years, crosses the island, rising in a multitude of bends at an altitude of nearly 1 000 metres, before descending towards the coast. The views and the peaks are breathtaking! Return ferry to Mindelo at the end of the afternoon. 

Walk : Coculi > Valleys of Joao Alfonso and Cha das Pedras | 3h45 | 13 km - 8 miles | Elevation : +580m/-500m
Meals included : breakfast 
Night : Mindelo

Transfer to the airport and flight to Sao Nicolau. Depending on arrival time, free time to explore the small town of Vila da Ribeira Brava. The capital of the island, Vila da Ribeira Brava nonetheless exudes a rural atmosphere: houses are built on either side of the valley, crops are never far away and roosters crow at dawn.

Meals included : breakfast
Night : Vila da Ribeira Brava - Note : no comfort option possible

Cross Ribeira Brava and then climb a path lined with low basalt and aloe stone walls, still used by the locals for medicinal purposes. After a slightly steep climb, the pass dotted with sisal trees marks the entrance to the Queimadas valley.  The papaya and mango trees provide pleasant shade before the climb up to Faja, the neighbouring valley. Faja is the island's vegetable-growing area, thanks to a drip irrigation system set up following a huge drilling project by a French NGO. The Faja region is renowned for its maize, papaya, beans and other crops, some of which are exported to Sal. Transfer to Tarrafal on the south-west coast where you will stay for 2 nights. You'll enjoy the magnificent black sand beach where Cape Verdean families like to gather at the end of the day for football matches and long swims. Important: the sea is often rough, so don't take any risks in the event of strong currents.

Walk : Ribeira Brava > Queimada de Cima > Cachaço  | 4h30 | 12 km - 7.5 miles | Elevation : +920m/-310m
Meals included : breakfast
Night : Tarrafal of Sao Nicolau - Note : no comfort option possible

Transfer to the remote village of Hortela on the southern slopes of Monte Gordo. This arid area is criss-crossed by fields of lava in a variety of colours and shapes. Classified as a protected natural area, the slopes of Monte Gordo have been replanted with numerous aloes to maintain the soil and contain erosion. You round the mountain to reach the village of Ribeira de Calhaus before entering an area in total contrast to the previous lunar landscapes. You will then walk along paths lined with pine, eucalyptus and sisal trees, against a panoramic backdrop of the Faja valley. Transfer back to your accommodation.

Walk : Hortela > Monte Gordo > Cachaço  | 4h00 | 8 km - 5 miles | Elevation : +450m/-500m
Meals included : breakfast 
Night : Tarrafal of Sao Nicolau - Note : no comfort option possible

On this last morning in Sao Nicolau, a short transfer to the west coast will take you to discover one of the 7 wonders of the archipelago. After an introductory walk through a lunar, desert landscape, the coast suddenly reveals the natural pools of Carberinho, with their rocks sculpted by the ocean and the wind.  Possibility of a swim. Transfer to the airport and flight to Sal. Sal owes its name to the extraction of salt which has been the island’s only resource for more than a century. Today its magnificent white sandy beaches and turquoise waters make it a famous seaside destination. Transfer to the village of Santa Maria on the south coast where you will spend the next two nights.

Meals included : breakfast 
Night : Santa Maria

The 8 km long white sandy beach of Santa Maria is simply stunning! Lapped by turquoise and emerald waters, it is the ideal place to relax after this beautiful journey island hopping in Cape Verde! You can also enjoy some of the waters sport activities like surfing, kitesurfing, scuba diving etc (many specialists on site) but also some more nature or cultural oriented excursions like a full day Sal island tour to discover the main sites of the island: Pedra da Lume salt lakes, the famous blue eye (blue lagoon), traditional villages (Optional).

Meals included : breakfast 
Night : Santa Maria

Depending on your return flight time, transfer to the airport for your return flight in the middle of the day or at night. If your flight is scheduled for the night, the day will be free in Santa Maria (day-use room, meals and optional activities on request).

Meals included : breakfast