© Gaia Tourism 2018
© GAIA - CABO VERDE TOURISM
Blaise Menuet - Managing Director
Contacts:
Telephone office: (+238) 993 99 20
Telephone operations: (+238) 999 44 55
E-mail: office@gaiatourism.cv
Praia City Tour
from 35€/person
Half day
Cidade Velha
from 45€/person
Full day Tarrafal
from 80€ /person
On the Island of Santiago we offer following services:
Visit Santiago the largest island of Cape Verde, with an area of 991 square kilometres . The island is mountainous, although slightly flatter in the southeast. In the area of Cidade Velha and west of Salineiro consists of a plateau that has very few hills and a lot of ravines, several of them deep. Praia, located in the southeast coast, is the largest city on the island, and also the largest city and capital of the country. Other towns on the island include Cidade Velha, 15 kilometres west of Praia, Cape Verde's first capital; Assomada, 60 kilometres north and Tarrafal in the northern part of the island 75 kilometres from the capital. The island has the most number of villages and settlements in Cape Verde.
The tallest summit is Pico da Antónia which is located west of Picos, the second is Serra da Malagueta which is halfway between Assomada and Tarrafal. Other mountain ranges include Órgãos which dominate a part of the municipality including north of João Teves, Monte Vacas which dominate between Cidade Velha and São Domingos and Serra da Malagueta which dominates the north of the island. Pico da António and Serra Malagueta are its National Parks located on the island, they were created in 2003. The island are one of five that have one or more islands, one is Ilhéu de Santa Maria which is near Praia and the others are some rocky islets located near Ponta Moreia.
The length of the shoreline is around 120 km long making it the longest in the archipelago and much of it are surrounded by short and tall cliffs, many of the taller ones are on the west side. Many of the cliffs were formed from the massive Fogo eruption of 73,000 years ago in the west and most probably in other parts of the island including smaller ones in the east, it is recorded in its boulders that are seen today. The surrounding bays include Baía de Mosquito which is in the southwest and has one of the tallest cliffs on any island in the North Atlantic, Praia Harbor near Praia in the southeast and Tarrafal Bay to the northwest. The longest river is the Poilão Stream which flows in the southern interior other streams include Ribeira Grande de Santiago, Ribeira Grande do Norte de Santiago which empties in Chão Bom.