São Nicolau

São Nicolau is another picture-postcard Cape Verde island, with a captivating contrast of lush, green tropical vegetation and arid volcanic peaks.

The fertile valleys and hills comprise such intense and varying foliage that one would be forgiven for thinking it is right out of a Jurassic Park scene.

Contrast that with the barren, unforgiving rock of other volcanic peaks and you are left with a dichotomy that is as wonderful as it is unique.

More for the hiker than the sun seeker, São Nicolau is accessed by air and has a population of 13,500 - the fifth largest of the archipelago and one that depends almost exclusively on agriculture and fishing.

Known for its quietness and serenity, São Nicolau is typified by its small rural communities.

The mountainside capital, Ribeira Brava, is an old world town, with pretty gardens, serene town square and narrow streets. It is located in a deep valley with an empty river bed flanked by two imposing mountain ranges on each side that reach a peak of 1,312m.

It is in this quaint, colonial town that West Africa's first seminary was established. The high educational standards that flowed from this have turned out some of the country's most influential people, from government ministers to industrial entrepreneurs.

Aside from Ribeira Brava another town of interest is Tarrafal, which is located by the sea and fronted by famous black beaches. Diving and fishing are, understandably, the most popular activities here, with leisure fishing enthusiasts mostly searching out the much sought after Blue Marlin. Small dolphin schools also regularly follow vessels.

Visitors, however, are mostly drawn to the island mainly for its incomparable hiking. One of its main attractions is the enchanting and tropical Monte Gordo, which stands imperiously at 1,304m and has a stunning, fertile plant life.

A short trek from the capital you will find a stunning gorge with lush plantations of maize, banana and papaya.

Long since a motif not for just São Nicolau but Cape Verde, the island is also the home of the fairytale dragon trees (Dragoeiro), which is now officially an endangered species.

The nearby island of Raso, which is accessed from the port of Tarrafal is home to the Cape Verdian Lark - one of the rarest birds in the world. Visitors, however, should note that there is no shelter on the uninhabited Raso island and must bring their own water and food.

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