My Favourite Places on Sal Island (Cape Verde)

While Sal isn’t the main island in the Cape Verdean Archipelago, it is probably the most popular for foreign visitors. With its long stretches of sandy beaches, resort towns and water sport-loving people, it’s not hard to see why. But for many (myself included), it is too touristy. There always seemed to be more foreigners than locals, and much felt white-washed and inauthentic. I spent four months living on this island working for an amazing turtle conservation organisation – the first of the islands to be settled – and during that time I saw quite a bit of it (after all, it is only 35km long) and found a few places on Sal that I simply adored.

The history of Sal and Cape Verde in general is fascinating. Until it was discovered by the Portuguese in the 15th century, it was completely uninhabited, no doubt because of its location – 500km from the coast of west Africa. The island nation then became a stopping point for the slaving ships bringing slaves to the new colonies in the Americas. The local people descend from these African slaves, and the pride in their country is obvious.

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If you want to get away from the typical tourist trails (for the most part), here are my five favourite places on Sal:

Monte Grande

Monte Grande isn’t exactly…grande. At only 400m high, it hardly warrants the title of mountain. But in comparison to the rest of the island, it’s huge. Situated at the northern end of Sal, Monte Grande is a great short hike to stretch your legs. You do need a car to get there, and prepare for some dirt roads and a general feeling of ‘where the hell are we?’, but it’s well worth the effort for the views. On a clear day, you can see the entire island from the top, all the way down to Santa Maria on the south coast. It’s simply breathtaking, but you’ll certainly feel it in your legs by the time you finish!

The day I hired a car with two others from Project Biodiversity was one of my favourite days of the season. It was like journeying through a completely foreign land. Rugged and dramatic and empty of other people, the northern part of the island became one of my favourite places on Sal.

The view from the top of Monte Grande in Sal, Cape Verde

Santa Maria

While the main town on Sal is Espargos, Santa Maria is where most of the tourism is concentrated. This has resulted in far too many souvenir shops, men outside said souvenir shops hassling you to come in for a look, a west coast filled with resorts and many tourists crowding the streets. So why did it make this list? Because there’s still so much local life to see here.

Head down to the pier in the centre of town to see the daily fish market – buckets of fish hauled straight from the fishing boats underneath, the women gutting and cleaning, the kids running around and jumping into the water, the stray dogs chilling on the beaches nearby. The pervasiveness of western tourism has the potential to blot out all local life if it’s not checked, but in Santa Maria this glimpse of real Cabo Verde is still present.

If you ignore the constant souvenirs dangled in front of you and the overflowing resort bars, Santa Maria is also quite pretty, with many of its low buildings painted in bright colours.

The pier in Santa Maria in Sal, Cape Verde

A local boy fishes off the pier in Santa Maria, Sal, Cape Verde

Serra Negra

One of the more rural parts of Sal, Serra Negra is a bit difficult to get to, with a labyrinth of dirt tracks the only way in or out. But it’s one of the most beautiful parts of the island, in my opinion. During my time working with Projeto Biodiversidade, I spent many a night and morning roughing it in Serra Negra while patrolling the beaches there. I saw the sun rise over the ocean there more times than I can remember, the dark colour of the hills lightening as the clouds fade away.

During nesting season (June to October), Serra Negra sees a huge number of loggerhead turtles coming at night to lay their eggs, so tourist numbers have also risen here. Remember to always keep your distance from wildlife, and if you’re here at night during that time of year, don’t use any white light. The turtles will see this and immediately run back to the water, preventing them from doing that all-important job of digging a nest.

A baby turtle on the sand in Sal, Cape Verde

Kite Beach

My home for four months, this beach on the island’s east coast is aptly named. Sal and nearby Boa Vista are famous for their perfect conditions for wind- and kite-surfing, so it’s no surprise that each day we would wake up to see kitesurfers getting ready to flit over the waves. The colourful kites were a beautiful contrast to the golden sand and deep blue waves.

Kite Beach (also called Costa Fragata) is a really popular place for nightly turtle tours during the nesting season. While hordes of tourists (yes, I really mean hordes of them, think hundreds) are not ideal conditions for keeping the loggerheads undisturbed and not distressed, the tourism industry is a huge part of Sal’s economy and is a great way for locals to understand how important keeping the turtles safe and alive is.

Watching the kite surfers in Sal, Cape Verde

Monte Leão

The Lion Mountain certainly lives up to his name, if you have an active imagination. Shaped like a resting lion facing out towards the ocean, this rocky hill sits right on the mid-western coast of Sal. With beautiful beaches, great snorkelling spots nearby and tidal pools to swim in (with care) right at the lion’s paws, if you have a car this is a great place to spend a day. Take a picnic and chill on the warm sand, or even camp overnight and watch the Milky Way move overhead in some of the clearest skies I’ve ever seen.

Just please, as a previous turtle ranger, don’t camp there between June and October. It is allowed, but you will be a complete pain in the ass for any ranger working there that night. Lights, sounds, dogs and people are all massive disturbances for the turtles and the rangers will not enjoy asking you to turn off your torches or turn off that music.

As part of my job, I spent a couple of days and nights here on occasion, and it was such a perfectly relaxing place to get away from the main camp for a few days. The beach, the lion and the sunsets made this one of my favourite places on Sal.

Can you see the resemblance to the lion?

Footprints in the sand at Monte Leao, Sal, Cape Verde

Practical Information:

Because Cape Verde used to be a Portuguese colony, there are still many ties between the two countries. The official currency is Escudos, but many places on Sal accept euros. The currencies are also tied at 110 escudos to 1 euro, but to make things easier, the conversion rate in shops and restaurants is usually 100-1.
Portuguese Creole is the official language, but because it’s a touristy island, many speak English and Portuguese. Spanish is also a useful language to have.
Direct flights to Sal can be found from Portugal, Spain, Germany, Belgium and even Brazil.
With resorts to spare, there are tons of accommodation options. For those backpackers on a tighter budget, there isn’t a huge amount to choose from, but there is at least one hostel and few budget options available.
Price-wise, items such as soft drinks and snacks are similar to European prices. Meals in restaurants and alcohol are a bit cheaper, but don’t expect the low prices of other African countries.

Have you ever been to Cape Verde? What’s your opinion on touristy versus more local places?

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