Cape Verde

Cape Verde Holidays

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Cape Verde Travel Guide

The once uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century; they subsequently became a trading center for African slaves and later an important coaling and re–supply stop for whaling and transatlantic shipping. Independence was achieved in 1975.

Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green, despite what the country's name suggests (verde is Portuguese for "green").

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Climate

Cape Verde's climate is temperate, with a warm, dry summer. Precipitation is meager and falls between the months of June to February, although some islands see almost no rain, these are Sal, Boavista and Maio. The islands with most rain fall are Santiago, Fogo and Santo Antao.

Islands

Cape Verde is formed by 10 main islands and about 8 islets. The main islands are (clockwise from northwest):

  • Santo Antao– Great hiking.
  • Sao Vicente – With the cultural capital of Mindelo.
  • Santa Luzia – Santa Luzia is uninhabited but can be visited as a day trip from So Vincente.
  • Sao Nicolau.
  • Sal – Has great beaches, water sports and resorts aplenty.
  • Boa Vista Also boasts fantastic beaches.
  • Maio
  • Santiago Island – The first island settled in Cape Verde. It holds the current capital Praia, the original capital Cidade Velha, and the bulk of the nation's population.
  • Fogo – A spectacular volcano island which erupted as recently as 1995.
  • Brava – A small island only accessible by boat and is a great place to get away from it all.

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