Places for active stuff in Africa
Set apart from most hikes on Santo Antão, which are mainly inland going between the top of the mountains and the coast in either direction, the coastal walk between Cruzinha and Ponta do Sol is something very different. Don’t expect to hike flat though. You’ll probably get the same or even more altitude difference in your legs than on the other hikes. The trail keeps going up and down along the rocky coast, sometimes going over some passes, but pretty much all the time you see the ocean and have amazing views. You pass by some beautiful black sand beaches where you can cool your feet down in the waves. The few villages you pass through are also beautiful and some have amazing agricultural terraces.
Small enough to walk around on, Cabo Verde's smallest inhabited island rises steeply out of the Atlantic Ocean. Thus hiking here has its ups and downs that will take your breath away due to the island's mountainous nature. The views of the island's slopes, its coastline, villages and to nearby Fogo are all magnificent on clear days. On cloudy days, any hike on Brava will be a walk in the clouds while the lazily drifts past the island's mountain tops. However, at any time will the cobblestone roads, lobelia flowers and mountainside villas make for idyllic hikes; one that feels more like the 19th century than the 21st. From the main town of Vila Nova de Sintra, beautiful walks are everywhere but recommended hikes include the walks down to Vinagre, up to Nossa Senhora do Monte, and across the island to Fajã d'Agua and Tantum. Be aware that walks here a longer than they look on the map given the winding nature of the roads and paths.
The most popular hike on São Nicolau island is probably the climb to the top of its highest mountain: Monte Gordo, just over 1,300 m high. Since recent years, the area around this mountain is protected and has become a national park. There is an information center at the start of the trail in Cachaço and they even have some leaflets with a very good trail map of the national park. The climb goes up steadily to the top from where you get 360° views of the island. With clear weather, you can see several of the Barlavento islands such as São Vicente and Santo Antão.
From here you can backtrack all the way or you can choose to just hike down a little the same way, then hike around the mountain, go over some ridges and then finally hike down to finish in the town of Praia Branca, which is strangely not a beach town as you would think of its name (praia is Portuguese for beach).
From here you can backtrack all the way or you can choose to just hike down a little the same way, then hike around the mountain, go over some ridges and then finally hike down to finish in the town of Praia Branca, which is strangely not a beach town as you would think of its name (praia is Portuguese for beach).
Pico do Fogo (2928 m) is Cabo Verde's highest point and, essentially, a volcano inside a volcano. It's surrounded by a black, moonscape; that will take any first-time visitor by surprise. Perfectly cone-formed the volcano itself is possible to climb in about three hours, though it's advisable to take a guide as the ascent is steep and the best paths change sporadically. Returning down, however, will take about forty minutes as the descent is made by a sprint in a cloud of dust and ash, down through the loose volcanic gravel that covers much of the volcano. A magnificent and fearsome, the volcano last erupted in 2014, and the local community here is yet to recover. This will inevitably put a limit on any visitor’s enjoyment climbing the volcano. But don't let that put you off, the money generated by homestays, the vineyards that survived and the guided climbs goes a long way in the rebuilding of the community.
Sal Rei town is the main place to stay on Boa Vista for independent travellers (and kite surfers). The town is a wonderful strange blend of traditional Cabo Verdean town mixed with half-built holiday complexes and even a shanty town in the perimeter. Though grey is the dominating colour (as with any Cabo Verdean town) there are a few colourful houses, including a handful of could-be colonial buildings. Though the small town beach is cute with the docking fishing boats, the famous Boa Vista beaches are south of town. Here you can walk for days and touch nothing but sand. It's also here you find the beach bars and wind and kite surfing schools.
With consistent wind year around, Cabo Verde has become a wind- and kitesurfing mecca. Though Sal island draws a bigger tourist and surfer crowd, less developed Boa Vista wins in terms of raw nature and long untouched beaches. Some of the good surf spots are easily accessible from the main settlements on both islands, while other spots need a bumpy drive in a 4x4 through rocky desert and sand dunes. There are surf schools on both islands and for the more experienced, breaking waves.
The small island of Anjouan is extremely picturesque with steep mountains covered in vegetation (mostly plantations and gardens), palm fringed shoreline, and scruffy villages. Trekking across the island is possible, but if that seems too adventurous for you, there is the option of exploring the island along the ring road, which circumvents the island - though cutting corners at all of the three ends (Anjouan is shaped like a triangle). This can be done by either minibus or simply walking. A full circle by minibus takes about 6 hours, though you will have to change minibus in both Moya and Domoni, but you probably want to break up the journey in both Moya and Domoni, where there also are accommodation to find. If you choose to only hike one stretch, the one from Moya to the intersection before M'rémani over Col de Moya is particularly pretty with views over the wild coastline, Mozambique Channel and glimps of Mohéli in the horizon. It takes about four hours to hike uphill along the hairpin-twisting road from Moya to the pass of Col de Moya (895 m) and another hour to the intersection, where you can grab a minibus or shared taxi to Domoni.
Only Sierra Leone can boast of having better beaches than Côte d'Ivoire on the West African coast. This makes the country an attractive destination for those few travellers who come to West Africa, in part, to seek out sea, sand and sun. The hardest part might well be choosing your favourite beach. There are plenty of small hidden coves along the coast for visitors with their own wheels. However, these beaches tend to be occupied by fishers or have strong currents that make swimming dangerous – always consult locals before diving in. Anyone looking for beaches with proper facilities should aim for the beach towns of Sassandra, San Pedro, Grand Bassam and Assinie. The most secluded of these is Sassandra, which has a very local fell to it. In the other end of the scale, plush resorts are easily found in the other three towns, with Grand Bassam being the easiest accessible from Abidjan.
The small, roofed shacks stand so close together that they form a makeshift covered market. The walkways between the stalls are so narrow that two people can barely pass each other. Here are hundreds of stalls and finding one's way around is next to impossible, despite the whole area being of a limited size. Around this central market, improvised stalls – often just a woman selling vegetables under a colourful parasol – spill into the surrounding streets. Labé is the capital of the Fouta Djallon region and, as such, the city's market is the biggest of its kind. It's a mecca for foodies that overflows with food stuff and fresh produce, much of which is completely foreign to Western visitors. White balls of something that could be cheese, but certainly doesn't taste like it, tubs of homemade peanut butter and large bottles of spicy brown groundnut sauce. Also found in the market are weird fruits like baobab fruits, miraclefruits, breadfruits, and much more.
Snaking its way through the highland of Fouta Djallon the N22 between Pita and Télimélé offers some of Guinea's best active travel. Travelling east to west the road offers fantastic views over the valleys and flat mountain plateaus, and it passes through many remote mountain villages. The 100-plus km can be completed in just around 8 hours in a 4x4, although to appreciate the journey, travellers should consider braving it by bike (two days) or hiking the road in its entirety (four to six days). Following the locals, the latter two options have plenty of hidden and exciting short-cuts. If hiking the entire road seems too ambitious, the real fun starts at the village of Donghol Touma, from where the road descend continuously for more than 30 km into a valley before the climb up to Télimélé begins.