Santiago / Tarrafal
African flair - bizarre mountains rough coasts with a phantasmagorical submarine world The Capeverde Archipelago / Santiago
All Islands are formed by volcanism. the Pico fogo on Fogo Island is still an active volcano. Only 9 of 14 islands are inhabited. You can compare the structure and the characteristic of the islands with Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
With an area of 993 sqkm Santiago is the greatest, most nature-related and most diversified island. The capital Praia with its new international airport is situated in the south. About 540 years ago the Portuguese settled on the islands and governed the archipelago as a colony. Since 1975 Cabo Verde is an independent nation and joined the United Nations and the government tries cautiously to establish an individual tourism. Tarrafal  Tarrafal is the most popular recreation area of Santiago Island. You can reach the town in the north of the island within 75 minutes from Praia, either by using the road along the coast, or the new road over the mountains via Assomada. During this trip over the island you will be amazed about he bizarre and rough volcanic landscape.
Tarrafal is situated at the lee side of the island, a guarantee for calm water-conditions. There are some rather good restaurants in the town in which you can relish fresh fish and the good vines of Fogo. There are also discotheques and of course several places for shopping. Beside the small shops and the municipal market hall, there is two times a week the big weekly market. There you can find almost everything like food and fruits or things like jewelery as well as industry products and craftsmen supply Beside that there are a post-station and two banks in the town, where you can change money.
Weekly market in Tarrafal
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