São Nicolau

São Nicolau island has a triangular shape and is distinguished by its harsh and contrasting charm, with green mountains and barren valleys where the majority of the population concentrates. The main town is Ribeira Brava, crossed by the homonymous river. It is a pretty town, with narrow streets, a number of charming squares, enchanting gardens and valuable palaces where it is possible to observe the island history and the influence of its colonial past. The Cachaco area, Mount Gordo National park, attracts the cammineros, who love the wild nature and the peace: in this area they can admire the beautiful panorama. At the base of Mount Gordo, the Faja valley is located, with terracing for cultivation of papaya, mango, bananas, corn and potatoes. It is possible to find rare botanic species such as Dragoeiro which is a country symbol in São Nicolau. On the South coast rises a small fishermen’s port, Preguica; it may be particularly interesting to visit it to admire the landscape from the “Caldeira” volcano. The nearby Galès beach which has dark sand is ideal for a good bath. Proceeding to the South-West coast, you arrive at Tarrafal, the second most popular location of the island, renowned for the black sand; it is opportune to remember the Barril beach, and it is not to be forgotten the Baixo Rocha white beaches, a little exotic part of this portion of the island. Following the road between the mountains and the sea you arrive at Ribeira da Prata, where there is the Rocha Scribida, a large lonely and remote rock, of unknown origin, with not easily decipherable characters attributed by some people to the first visitors of the archipelago, by other people to pirates