Sao Nicolau is a picturesque island located in the northern part of Cape Verde, 50 km long and 25 km wide. In the distant past on the island there was a powerful volcanic activity, which gave San Nicolau a mountainous terrain. The highest point of the island is Mount Gordo (Monte Gordo, 1304 m).

Capital is the city of Ribeira-Brava (Ribeira Brava). Large city - Tarrafal.

How to get to San Nicolau

Preguiça Airport, located 5 km to the southeast of the capital, accepts domestic flights of TACV from Praia (Santiago), Sala and San- Vicente. The cost of taking a taxi to Ribeira Brava is ~ 400-600 CVE, by public transport ~ 100 CVE.

The ferries Sotavento e Barlavento anchor in the port of Tarrafal twice a week, departing from the city of Mindelo (San Vicente). Ferry Tarrafal makes a flight to Santiago twice a week.

Transport

Buses during the day are smoking from the capital of Ribeira -Brava up to Tarrafal and Juncalinho, and also between Tarrafal and the northern coast of the island, the cost of the journey is 220 CVE.

The taxi fare from Ribeira Brava to Fajã ~ 1000 CVE, to Tarrafal - 2000 CVE.

Hotels in San Nicolau

You can stop at the Ribeira Brava and Tarrafal guesthouses, as well as in Tarrafal Hotel 3 * with 200 rooms.

Beaches ±​​$$

Black sandy beach Tarrafal is rich in iodine and titanium and it is recommended that For the therapy of arthritis and rheumatism. The best beach on the island is Baixo Rocha.

San Nicolau Entertainment, Excursions and Attractions

For many years the island was the cultural capital of the archipelago and literary the cradle of Cape Verde. Here in 1936, his own literary current "Claridade" ("clarity") was born, with writers Balthazar and Manuel Lopes, Georges Barbosa and others participating.

One of the interesting sights of the island is the rock of Rotcha Scribida, where you can see ancient writings, the content of which has not yet been deciphered. There is a belief that these inscriptions are left by people visiting the island before it was discovered by Portuguese sailors. At present, the inscriptions are in rather poor condition, because they are not protected from the environment.

In the capital of the island, the parish church of Senhora Nossa, built in the early 18th century, the ancient home of the Cape Verde Seminary, is of interest. It is worth visiting the fortress, built in the Gulf of São Jorge in the early 19th century, the fishing village of Preguiça.

Trekking through the mountains of San Nicolau, sport fishing (the exit from the ports of Tarrafal and Preguiça), a walk on rented boats on the Baía de São Jorge Bay (the boat can be found on the beach of Carriçal), walks through the picturesque valleys of Fajã and Ribeira da Prata. br>