recommended route
Cape Verde Total - the Santo Antao Traverse
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just before Pico da CruzPhoto: Tino Knoche, Community
Almost 160 km through and over Santo Antao — after a desert-like climb from the ferry port in Porto Novo through the forested slopes in the north, over the high plateau to Topo de Coroa and down to Tarrafal on the west coast. Except for a small drive section, completely on foot and for me a real adventure.
Our route is aimed at endurance hikers who are able to climb 1500m in a day with 12 kg or more on their backs in scorching heat without burning out.
We split the tour into 8 day stages plus the ascent of Topo de Coroa. If you plan one to three rest days, you should allow about 9 (hardcore) to 12 (a bit more relaxed) days to complete this tour. I did this with a good friend and especially on the desert-like stages, it is recommended to have someone with you.
We went from accommodation to accommodation, only booked the first place in advance, and this worked very well. We deliberately did not take a tent — our backpacks were already heavy enough from the many liters of drinking water, and the ground is often strewn with thorns and stones and shared with goat mites.
Our daily stages:
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Day 1: Porto Novo to Boca di Figueiral: 22.8km / 1650m ascent / 1430m descent
- Day 2: Boca di Figueiral to Xoxo: 16.1km / 1500m ascent / 1360m descent
- Day 3: Xoxo to Ponta do Sol: 12.1km / 140m ascent / 440m descent
- Day 4: Ponta do Sol to Cha de Igreja: 15.6km / 890m ascent / 910m descent
- Day 5: Boca de Ambas to Espongeiro: 15.4km / 1800m ascent / 710m descent
- Day 6: Espongeiro to Alto Mira: 25.6km / 1280m ascent / 1790m descent
- Day 7: Alto Mira to Cha de Fejoual: 13.9km / 1330m ascent / 770m descent
- Day 8: Ascent Topo de Coroa: 12.6km / 830m ascent / 850m descent
- Day 8: Cha de Fejoual to Tarrafal: 23.7km / 350m ascent / 1660m descent
We did the ascent of Topo at sunrise and the descent to Tarrafal on the same day — this was enough for a short coffee break at noon and to arrive on time in the evening. For this reason, this day with over 36 km and almost 3700m elevation gain is also something for the highly motivated ;)
Note: Because driving sections cannot unfortunately be subtracted from the total route on the Outdooractive interface, the distance appears about 15 km longer in the display.
Don't worry, we really were on the Tope de Coroa, even if on the map it looks different here. That's simply because the maps are wrong — trust me.
The GPS tracks have already been corrected and are also available individually here:
Author’s recommendation
Our accommodations:
Mindelo on Sao Vicente — there are quite a few here, you have a free choice; I would choose something near the harbor again.
Casa Das Ilhas in Paul — really great, we stayed here three days in our small bungalow.
Kasa Xoxo in Xoxo — now also on Booking, with shower and a great location.
Ponta do Sol — honestly I forgot, but there are several on Booking.
Kasa D'igreja just before Cha de Igreja — quite good with the tents and the self-built pool (if there is water), we ate in town — the Kasa is not necessarily authentic but nice.
Casa Espongeiro in Espongeiro — this already feels like a mountain lodge; the host and his giant dog are a bit quirky but it's a great accommodation — booked via Airbnb on the way.
Casa Amadeu, family guesthouse in Alto Mira III — that was great, simple rooms, drinking beer on the flat roof at night and looking at the stars, good breakfast.
Alcindo Lima in Norte — you basically find it only by going there and knocking or asking around.
Bungalows Mar Tranquilidade in Tarrafal — super nice property, great food, all good... but honestly, the guests and operators left a somewhat bad aftertaste with us. When we asked about good food options in town, we were almost emotionally insulted and told that the Cape Verdeans actually have no idea about cooking... just to mention one thing. Somewhat colonial attitude here.
I found the best places for rest days: Casa d'Ilhas in Paul, where you can also explore the area for several days, and Casa Espongeiro; Alto Mira was also great.
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
Track types
Safety information
Restaurants and shopping options are rare away from the coast and sometimes hide where you least expect them.
Always have enough drinking water with you — I myself often don't drink much on tours, but here it is essential — the sun really burns relentlessly.
Sunscreen with factor 50, preferably 150... my friend’s skin once blistered because we forgot to apply sunscreen :)
Hat or cap is a must, ideally tuck in a light cloth underneath that covers the neck — you still get sunburn but not so bad this way.
The stages are sometimes very long, lonely and hot — especially days 1, 5, 6 and 8. Depending on your condition, it may be advisable not to do Topo de Coroa and the descent in one day.
Aluguers are cheap and we used them three times, also for the return trip from Tarrafal to Porto Novo. Ask at your accommodation, they will tell you where and when the cars depart.
We did the tour in March and it was already intense — so I think between June and September it might not be recommended to walk around in the Morro (Morro=hill, morrer=to die) there, and the weather is also great at home in that time...
Public transport
By plane from Germany via Lisbon to Sao Vicente. One overnight stay in Mindelo and then approx. 2 hours by ferry to Santo Antao.Coordinates
Book recommendation by the author
Author’s map recommendations
The maps from his publisher are a must; I believe there are no others... you can also get them locally, for example at the port in Porto Novo.
The GPS map offerings are pretty poor — look for "OpenMap Chest West Africa"; there you get via a torrent link the best maps currently available for your device.
Equipment
Sturdy shoes — you are often off-trail, on scree or steep slopes.
Change socks — we changed twice a day to prevent blisters.
Poles can be advantageous, especially downhill — you might get laughed at a little, but whatever ;)
GPS — also not wrong; the path to the next settlement can be long and paths are hardly marked.
Localization
Derived from the technical difficulty and the stamina requirements.
Questions and answers
Ratings and reviews
Photos from others