A Guide to Cape Verde

Sal

The former Portuguese colony of Cape Verde is an archipelago of ten islands and five tiny islets in the Atlantic Ocean lying off the coast of West Africa. Each individual island has its own character and a ferry system links the islands together providing an opportunity to see the amazing volcanic terrain and the unique sights of each island.

These largely undiscovered islands offer a truly unique landscape combining spectacular mountain ranges with deserted beaches. The island of Sal has a striking, lunar-like landscape and the colourful resort of Santa Maria sits on its southern shores and is a stunning mixture of brightly-painted Portuguese-style houses, cobbled streets and friendly people. The island of Boa Vista is also referred to as “the 'island of dunes” and is dominated by shape-shifting dunes, mighty peaks and sub-tropical coconut plantation with long beaches of endless white sand, lapped by a turquoise ocean.

The capital of Cape Verde, Praia, can be found on the island of Santiago, the largest of all of the islands and home to half of the population of Cape Verde. Santiago is the agricultural centre of all the Cape Verde islands and is the main source of employment for the people of the island together with tourism and fishing. The main agricultural products are corn, sugar cane, banana, coffee and mangoes.

Cape Verde is a popular destination for both surfers and windsurfers due to the trade winds that create some excellent surfing conditions and diving is also very popular with its rich marine life and many 16th century shipwrecks lining the ocean floor. Combine all of this with snow white beaches, clear, turquoise waters and year round sunshine and you have the perfect destination. Until recently the beauty of these islands was largely kept a secret, nowadays Cape Verde is developing a flourishing tourist industry and even the Cape Verde people are unique, being a cultural mix of their two nearest neighbours, Senegal and Brazil.

The official language of the Cape Verde Islands is Portuguese. A mix of African and Portuguese cultures has had a large impact on the food of Cape Verde. Many different ingredients are used in the preparation of dishes resulting in very delicious tastes and there is a huge variety of fresh fish and seafood readily available including tuna fish, lobster and squid.

Average Temperatures

Currency: Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)

Time: GMT -1

Getting There: Cape Verde is five to six hours flying time from most UK airports. A direct service from the UK to Sal began in November 2006 through Astraeus. The major airports are Amilcar Cabral on Sal Island and Francisco Mendes in Praia on Santiago Island.