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Cape Verde Islands Tourist Information

Cape Verde is an archipelago off the west coast of Africa. It is formed by 10 main islands and about 8 islets. The main islands are:

Barlaventos (northern island group) Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista

Sotaventos (southern island group) Maio, Santiago, Fogo, Brava

Of these, only Santa Luzia and the five islets are uninhabited. Presently it is a Natural Reserve. All islands are volcanic, but an active volcano only exists on one of the islands, Fogo.

Introduction to the Cape Verde Islands

Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cape Verde has  a total population of around 418,000 and the islands in total cover 4,040 sq km of land, W Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean about 300 miles (480 km) West of Dakar, Senegal. It is an archipelago made up of 10 islands and 5 islets. Praia located on the island of Santiago, is the capital and largest city. In addition to the capital, other towns include Mindêlo on São Vicente, Ribeira Grande on Santo Antão, Sal-Rei on Boa Vista, and Espargos on Sal.

The archipelago of Cape Verde presents the nearest tropical islands to the UK. Climatically they are a marine extension of the Sahara, and benefit from a dry, moderate climate throughout the year with generally very little rainfall although it can vary according to the island and altitude. At the coast it rains on average only 22 days a year in contrast to nearly 3000 hours of sunshine (average 8 hours per day). There is a pleasant, almost permanent breeze. It can rain more often in the green and mountainous islands. Cape Verde is a cocktail of what you may find in other destinations. The magnificent beaches often with lush interiors and the Creole people are reminiscent of the Seychelles. Islands such as Sal and São Vicente have a barren landscape and climate similar to the Canary Islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. In the verdant highlands of Santiago and Santo Antão you could quite easily be in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Some of the coastal areas and fishing villages recall The Gambia. The awesome volcanic island of Fogo rises from the sea like Stromboli. The overall impression is of a fascinating and unspoiled holiday destination with each island different to its neighbour. Although tourism to the islands is developing, it remains in its infancy and many aspects are unsophisticated compared to more established and well-known resorts. Cape Verde will appeal to those wishing to experience a vibrant way of life, fascinating people, fabulous beaches, sunshine, some island hopping and a sense of adventure. The islands lie 385 miles from Senegal and 800 miles south of the Canaries. They are on the same latitude as Barbados and there are regular flights to Brazil. As they are just one hour behind UK time there is no jet lag.

Beaches

The beaches are superb with long stretches of fine white sand. The most popular are on the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, whilst Santiago and São Vicente have fine but little visited beaches.

Food, Drink and Shopping

You can find restaurants to suit most tastes in the more popular areas. Freshly caught fish is always on the menu cooked to local recipes, with relatively inexpensive swordfish, tuna and lobster widely found. Bananas, papaya and other fruit including strawberries are readily available. Most meat is imported from Brazil and South Africa. The wines come mainly from Portugal, although there is quite a good white and rosé from the island of Fogo, and there are local beers and firewater as well as rum-based grogue! Fogo also produces fine coffee and cheese.

Interestingly many shops are now run by the Chinese! There is a good curio and ceramic shop on Santiago and local foods and liquor are popular purchases.

Getting Around

There are international airports on Sal and Santiago with new ones due to open this year on Boa Vista and São Vicente. Travel within the islands is by daily inter-island flights or by ferry. An inexpensive air pass with up to ten flight coupons is ideal for adventurous island hoppers. Travelling around the islands by aluguers, locally run minibuses, is a great way to get to know the locals. Car hire is available on most islands. Most roads are challenging and are often of local stone or rough tracks.

Land and People

Cape Verde's islands fall into two main groups—the Barlavento, or Windward, in the north, which include Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Boa Vista, and Sal, and the Sotavento, or Leeward, in the south, which include Santiago (which is the largest island at 1,550 sq km), Fogo, Maio, and Brava. The islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin; the only active volcano is at the archipelago's highest point, Cano (c.9,300 ft/2,830 m), which is located on Fogo. Regularly active until the 18th cent., the volcano's most recent eruptions were in 1951 and 1995. The area is sometimes subject to severe droughts and the fierce harmattan wind. About 70% of the population is of mixed African and European descent, and almost 30% are of African descent; there are also a few Portuguese. Most people are Roman Catholic, and the religion is often mixed with indigenous beliefs. Portuguese and Crioulo, a blend of Portuguese and West African languages, are widely spoken.

Economy

Farming, the main economic activity, is severely limited by the small annual rainfall and extensive soil erosion; about 90% of the country's food must be imported. Cape Verde has considerable underground reserves of water, but extraction has proved too costly. The main crops are bananas, corn, beans, sweet potatoes, coffee, tomatoes, peanuts, and sugarcane. Goats, hogs, cattle, and sheep are raised. Tuna and lobster are the main catches of a small but potentially rich fishing industry. Salt is extracted and there are unexploited gypsum deposits. The islands' manufactures are limited to processed food, beverages, clothes, and footwear. Mindêlo is an important coaling station for ships, and transatlantic flights are serviced at an airport on Sal. The islands carry on a small foreign trade, mostly with Portugal and other European Union countries; the annual cost of imports is usually much higher than export earnings. The main imports are petroleum, foodstuffs, consumer goods, and machinery; the leading exports are fish, bananas, hides, and salt. Remittances from emigrants living in the United States, Portugal, and Africa constitute an important supplement to the islands' economy.

Government

Cape Verde is a multiparty democracy governed under the constitution of 1992. There is an elected president, a prime minister, and a unicameral legislature, the 72-member national assembly. Administratively, Cape Verde is divided into 14 districts.

History

Cape Verde was discovered in 1456 by Luigi da Cadamosto, a navigator in the service of Portugal. Four years later, Diogo Gomes, a Portuguese explorer, visited the uninhabited islands, and colonists from Portugal began to settle there in 1462. People from W Africa were soon brought in as slaves, and by the 16th cent. the islands had become a shipping centre for the slave trade. Later a Portuguese penal colony was established, and some of the convicts remained after completing their terms. Slavery was abolished on the islands in 1876. Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea Massau) was administered as part of the Cape Verde Islands until 1879. In 1951 the status of the islands was changed from colony to overseas province. Although the nationalist movement appeared less fervent in Cape Verde than in Portugal's other African holdings, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) was founded in 1956 and many Cape Verdeans fought for independence in Guinea-Bissau. After the fall (Apr., 1974) of the Cateano regime in Portugal, widespread unrest forced the government to negotiate with the PAIGC, and independence for Guinea-Bissau (Sept., 1974) and Cape Verde (July, 1975) soon followed. Although the PAIGC was the sole legal party in both nations, a movement to unite the two was hindered by Cape Verde's nationalism and geographic remoteness. Plans for unity came to an abrupt end in 1980 after Guinea-Bissau's government (which was mostly Cape Verdean) was overthrown in a coup.

In 1981 the PAIGC was renamed the PAICV (African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde), a new constitution was adopted, and Arístides Maria Pereira (Cape Verde's first president) was re-elected. In 1983, Cape Verde normalized relations with Guinea-Bissau, and in 1986, Pereira was unanimously re-elected. Multiparty elections were held in 1991; the centrist Movement for Democracy party (MPD) took a majority of seats in the national assembly, and Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, an independent, defeated Pereira for the presidency. The MPD retained its majority in the 1995 assembly elections, and Mascarenhas Monteiro was re-elected unopposed in 1996. In the late 1990s the government continued economic reforms aimed at developing the private sector and attracting foreign investment. However, the nation has been plagued with a prolonged drought that has caused staggering economic problems and large-scale emigration, as well as the need to import most of its food. In 2001 the PAICV regained control of national assembly, and PAICV candidate Pedro Pires narrowly won the presidency. The PAICV retained control of the national assembly after the Jan., 2006, elections, and Pires was re-elected the following month.

The uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; Cape Verde subsequently became a trading centre for African slaves and later an important coaling and re-supply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Following independence in 1975, and a tentative interest in unification with Guinea-Bissau, a one-party system was established and maintained until multi-party elections were held in 1990. Cape Verde continues to exhibit one of Africa's most stable democratic governments. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration. As a result, Cape Verde's expatriate population is greater than its domestic one. Most Cape Verdeans have both African and Portuguese antecedents.

Cape Verde Photo Galleries

Sal Island Photo Gallery            Santiago Island Photo Gallery            Fogo Island Photo Gallery

Boa Vista Island Photo Gallery            Sao Vicente Island Photo Gallery            Maio Island Photo Gallery

Santo Antao Island Photo Gallery            Sao Nicalau Island Photo Gallery            Brava Photo Gallery