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7 photos you have to get in Cape Verde

Camera ready? Here are the seven photos you need to snap in Cape Verde.

Don’t go all the way to Cape Verde and come back with a camera roll that’s just full of beaches. Okay, the beaches are beautiful, granted. A cluster of ten volcanic islands scattered in the Atlantic Ocean, off Africa’s west coast, Cape Verde offers all the white-sand stretches and too-blue ocean views you could want. But what’s different about Cape Verde is that it actually offers an amazing variety of settings from island to island – taking in desert, fertile valleys, volcanoes and more. If you point and click at all Cape Verde has to offer, you’ll return home with a pic-packed cloud that looks like you’ve been all over the world. So don’t just take the paradise beach shot – everyone posts that. But do they have a snap of them floating in a sea of salt? Or quad biking a sand dune at sunset? We think not.

Here are the seven photos you have to snap to show you made the most of Cape Verde.

1. AN ACTIVE VOLCANO

Pico de Fogo is the highest peak in Cape Verde and an active volcano. Rising almost 10,000ft into the air, its jet-black slopes look most imposing framed against a bright-blue sky – so pray for a clear day. Your prayers will probably be answered, as Cape Verde enjoys year-round sunshine. The best view is snapped from the Island of Fogo tour, which will drop you at the right spot. While this means you’re keeping a safe distance – though rest assured the only deadly eruption on record happened in 1847 – spare a thought for the small village living inside the volcano’s crater. No, really. Chã das Caldeiras is a 1,000-strong community that survives by growing wine grapes in the caldera. There are coffee plantations along Pico de Fogo’s slopes, too.

2. THE SANTA MARIA SHIPWRECK

Yeah, yeah, Cape Verde is paradise – sweeping white sands, neon-blue sea, etc, etc. But while everyone else is busy snapping ‘standard’ beach pictures, you can snag a more artsy image on Boa Vista island’s Praia de Atalanta beach, where there’s a hulking great shipwreck. The rusting remains of M/S Cabo Santa Maria, a huge Spanish cargo ship that ran aground here in the sixties, are a striking contrast against this deserted beach’s picture-perfect good looks. You’ll need to take the Santa Maria Shipwreck tour to get there, as the beach is so isolated. It’s a ghostly, but strangely beautiful shot. (Note many people refer to Praia de Atalanta beach as Santa Maria beach, after the wreck.)

3. FLOATING IN THE 'SALT SEA'

The island of Sal – Portuguese for ‘salt’ – is so called for its expansive salt plains, which, simply put, are deserts of salt. The town of Pedra Lume was a hub for the island’s salt miners back in colonial times, thanks to its massive salt crater (which was left over from an extinct volcano) - it’s scattered with pools of warm, salty water. Today, visitors can take a dip in this ‘salt sea’, where the density of the salt water means you’ll float without even trying – it’s almost impossible to sink (or even swim – movement here is mostly limited to ‘bobbing’). Naturally, the photo opportunities are amazing. Give someone else a turn behind the camera so you can be the one pictured floating.

4. A SAND DUNE SUNSET

So you’ve ticked off beach, mountain, sea – what’s left? Glad you asked, because we’ve got yet another type of scenery lined up. How about a spot of desert? Heading back to Boa Vista island, we find Cape Verde’s very own answer to the Sahara. Except this one is only a kilometre wide and five kilometres long – far more convenient. The Viana Desert is an otherworld of towering dunes, with sand so pure it’s almost white. The sand gets blown over here on ocean winds from mainland Africa, creating the alien landscape. Come at sunset for the most dramatic pictures, as the sinking sun throws a kaleidoscope of colours across the dunes. Or join a quad bike safari to take some action shots. Or just play Star Wars. Your choice.

5. ROWS OF RAINBOW HOUSES

Now you’ve snapped some of Cape Verde’s most isolated spots, it’s time to see a bit of life. Santa Maria fishing village is Sal island’s ‘busiest’ corner, though it’s still a pretty sleepy outpost, offering a smattering of snack shacks and ramshackle bars – and even pubs serving steak and ale pies. The local houses are all painted in jolly, vivid colours, lifting the spirits before you’ve even ordered your first Caipirinha - the island’s signature drink. Make sure to frame an arty pic of these rainbow-hued houses before you leave – the brighter, the better.

6. GREEN VALLEYS AND BLACK SAND BEACHES

Time for another drastically different landscape? You got it. On São Nicolau island, Cape Verde – which means ‘green cape’ – finally lives up to the name. The island’s mountainous terrain is covered in a thick carpet of green, making an epic setting for hiking and horse riding, not to mention some stunning photography. São Nicolau’s volcanic black sand beaches also set this island apart from Cape Verde’s typical golds and blues. The black sand makes a brilliant backdrop to the colourfully painted fishing boats often parked up on the shoreline, so make sure you capture those, too.

7. ACROBATIC WINDSURFING ACTION

We’re not talking random snaps of people windsurfing gentle waves. We’re talking action shots of pro windsurfers flying acrobatically through the air as they skim the next four-metre-high roller. Ponta Preta beach, Sal’s most idyllic sunbathing spot, overlooks lagoon-blue sea. And while this gorgeous water has its gentle days, it’s best known for whipping up massive waves – habitually reaching heights of between three and four metres. The conditions here are perfect for windsurfing, which is why the Professional Windsurfing Association’s World Tour often rocks up to the beach. But even when the contest isn’t in town, pro windsurfers from all over the world flock to Ponta Preta to take on the swell. Pack a picnic with your camera and while away an afternoon snapping them somersaulting and performing tricks.
Ready to start snapping?

Take a look at our Cape Verde holidays.

Author: Laura Chubb

Last updated: 29.06.2016

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