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Cape Verde

Cidade Velha, founded in 1462, was the first European town built anywhere in the tropics.

MacaronesiaCapital: Praia

FestivalsBudget FriendlyOff The Beaten PathAdventure

The Portuguese found these ten islands empty and settled them from 1462, which makes Cidade Velha on Santiago the earliest European colonial town in the tropics; it went onto the UNESCO list in 2009. Its position on the Atlantic slave route shaped everything that followed, including a Creole culture that belongs to neither Africa nor Portugal.

That culture exports better than anything else the islands produce. Morna, the slow song form Cesária Évora carried worldwide, was recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage in 2019. Geography stays eventful too: Fogo is an active volcano at 2,829 metres whose 2014 eruption buried the villages inside its caldera, and people have rebuilt on top of the new lava.

Quick facts

Currency

CVE

Cape Verdean escudo

Language

Portuguese

Power

—

Driving

Right

US-style

Airport

SID

RAI

Emergency

—

Police · Fire

When to go

Monthly breakdown

Storm risk: Low

Jan

Best

Feb

Best

Mar

Best

Apr

Best

May

Best

Jun

Best

Jul

—

Aug

Rain

Sep

Rain

Oct

Rain

Nov

Best

Dec

Best

Best monthsRainy season

Major events

Feb

Carnaval de Mindelo

Sao Vicente's carnival, styled on Brazil's and taken seriously enough that groups prepare all year. The largest carnival in West Africa.

Carnival

Jun

Festa de Sao Joao Baptista

Porto Novo on Santo Antao marks 24 June with a procession, drumming and the colá San Jon dance, one of the island's oldest surviving traditions.

Religious

Aug

Baia das Gatas Festival

A free three-night festival on a beach outside Mindelo held on the August full moon, running since 1984 and the main showcase for Cape Verdean music.

Music

Hidden gems

Nature

Cova Crater

An extinct crater on Santo Antao whose floor is farmed in terraces, reached on the old cobbled road over the ridge. The rim trail drops into the Paul valley, one of the best walks in the archipelago.

Village

Cha das Caldeiras

A village inside the caldera of Fogo volcano, rebuilt after lava buried it in 2014 and 2015. The residents make wine and coffee from the ash soil and moved straight back.

Historical

Cidade Velha

The first European colonial town built in the tropics, founded in 1462 on Santiago, with the pillory still standing in the square and the ruins of a 1495 cathedral above it.

Local food

Cachupa

Hominy corn slow-cooked with beans and whatever meat or fish there is; the leftovers are fried with an egg the next morning as cachupa guisada.

Pastel com diabo dentro

A corn and potato pastry with a spiced tuna filling, the name meaning pastry with the devil inside, for the chilli.

Grogue

dietary_tags.vegan

Sugarcane spirit distilled on Santo Antao in small trapiche stills; drunk neat or sweetened with molasses as ponche.

Safety tips

Health

Tap water is desalinated or from boreholes and is not reliably drinkable outside hotels. Bottled water is cheap and universal.

Water-Safety

The Atlantic here has powerful currents and a heavy shore break, particularly on Sal and Boa Vista. Several beaches that front hotels are not safe for swimming at all.

Transport

Inter-island flights are frequently delayed or cancelled and ferry schedules change without notice. Leave a full day of slack before an international departure.