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West Africa 2023

trip | 2023-02-05

Our plan for Equatorial Guinea fell through due to bureaucratic problems. So we quickly came up with a new plan in the same region that would include an ultra peak and not be a long trip, preferably something that could be done over a weekend and self-organised to avoid tour operators. São Tomé and Principe met all these criteria perfectly. We also quickly set a goal for this trip – to climb an ultra peak and as many prominent peaks as possible in the time available.

Rob and I met at London Heathrow and flew to Lisbon where we decided to walk to the hotel as there was only a shuttle service from the hotel to the airport and we wanted to avoid taking taxis. We found pavement all the way to the hotel; it was about two and a half kilometres, so in twenty-five minutes we proved that taxis are not the only way to get around. The next morning we took the hotel shuttle to the airport. After a five-and-a-half hour flight, we landed at São Tomé International Airport, where the process went smoothly. The immigration officer insisted on knowing the name of our hotel, but when we told him, he said he didn’t know it as it was quite new. Hiring a car was also straightforward; the lady from the car hire company gave us the keys and, after signing some paperwork, we were on our way to the hotel. Unexpectedly smooth, but there you go.

We set off for the Pico de São Tomé trailhead at 5am and luckily found a guide to join us. Although the walk didn’t require a guide, we decided to hire one to increase our chances of success. We reached the highest point on the island around midday and were rewarded with stunning views into the thick clouds. We then had time to drive north and watch a beautiful sunset from one of the beaches near Diogo Vaz village. To top it all off, we even found some 1-10 metre prominence rocks to climb. It was an excellent day!

  • Diogo Vaz

    Diogo Vaz

  • Pico de São Tomé

    Pico de São Tomé

The next day, after the only island ultra peak, we took a more relaxed approach and headed to the southern tip of the island. On the way we stopped at an oil palm plantation and climbed Aida peak, next to the old Villa Irene ruins. We then drove another hour to Inhame beach and walked up to Lama Porco, where we found an old artillery installation that had rusted over time. The next peak on our way back, Cantagalo, was less inviting but still interesting; we had to find a path and bushwhack up its steep slope to reach the summit.

On the third day we found a couple of peaks closer to the airport, as we had a flight home in the evening and needed to get there in the afternoon. We started from the beautiful Pico Boa Entrada volcano, following the locals’ advice to start on the east side, which was quite steep and grassy with some bushwhacking. The bigger problem was the tropical rain on our way down the north side; we were completely soaked within ten minutes. Our next peak was Muquinqui, with communication masts on the summit. The walk along the spiral forest access road seemed easy and short, but it turned out to be much longer than expected. Luckily we had managed to avoid the morning rain. Finally, we drove to Sameiro for our last summit of the trip, with wonderful views all around.

  • Sameiro

    Sameiro

  • Muquinqui

    Muquinqui

  • Pico Boa Entrada

    Pico Boa Entrada

  • Cantagalo

    Cantagalo

  • Lama Porco

    Lama Porco

  • Aida

    Aida

Flying from Lisbon to São Tomé, we had a breathtaking view of the Saharan Atlas mountains in Algeria, followed by the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert. I was also amazed by the women of São Tomé and Principe who could carry tuna fish on their heads – something I have yet to master with my half-kilo pillow!

  • São Tomé Island

    São Tomé Island

  • Lisbon to São Tomé

    Lisbon to São Tomé

Very good trip, and interesting experience. The final verdict is that São Tomé and Principe is a hidden gem. It has few visitors, friendly people and delicious food in the restaurants. I thoroughly enjoyed this trip and believe that anyone looking for something different from the standard destinations will appreciate it. Don’t expect luxury, but you will find beauty. We leave this place and move on to Portugal, where we have half a day to climb a few more peaks.

I would like to thank Rob for being great company on the trip and for locating all the lower peaks. I would also like to thank the locals and Zezito for making our walk to the highpoint so comfortable and enjoyable.

Rob
Me
ranges
altitude
prominence
isolation
distance
elevation gain
time
Sameiro Bight of Benin
142 m
65 m
- km
1.4 km
66 m
0h30
Muquinqui Bight of Benin
270 m
125 m
- km
6.2 km
121 m
1h25
Pico Boa Entrada Bight of Benin
361 m
106 m
- km
4.5 km
164 m
1h35
Cantagalo Bight of Benin
252 m
167 m
- km
5.6 km
139 m
1h55
Lama Porco Bight of Benin
125 m
120 m
- km
2 km
114 m
0h40
Aida Bight of Benin
243 m
158 m
- km
2.8 km
138 m
1h50
Pico de São Tomé Bight of Benin
2024 m
2024 m
405.92 km
18 km
1652 m
10h20
40.5km hiked and 2394m elevation gained in 18h15
  • Trips overview
  • « São Tomé Island
  • Aire »

Mountain Ranges

Anatolia
Taurus Mountains
Western Anatolia
Andes
Puna de Atacama
Atlas Mountains
High Atlas
Northwestern Atlas
Central America Ranges
Costa Rica-Panama Ranges
Central Central America
Eastern Europe Ranges
Southeast Baltic Plains
Iberian Peninsula
Cordillera Cantabrica
Castile Ranges
Portugal-Galicia
Pyrenees
Malay Archipelago
Java
Nusa Tengarra
Sulawesi
Sumatra
Northwest Europe
Great Britain
North France-West Rhine Area
Southeast South America
Pampas
Sierras de Cordoba
West Africa Mountains
Bight of Benin
Cameroon Mountains

Countries / regions

Algeria
Ain Guezzam
Ain Salah
Aïn Témouchent
El Bayadh
Ghardaïa
Oran
Ouargla
Saïda
Sidi Bel Abbès
Tamanrasset
Argentina
Catamarca
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Córdoba
Jujuy
Salta
Tucumán
Belgium
Flemish Region
Brussels Capital Region
Cameroon
Southwest
Costa Rica
Alajuela
Cartago
Guanacaste
Heredia
Limón
San José
Czechia
Prague
Denmark
Greenland
France
Hauts-de-France
Germany
Berlin
Niedersachsen
Indonesia
Bali
Jambi
Jawa Tengah
Jawa Timur
Nusa Tenggara Barat
Sulawesi Tengah
Sulawesi Utara
Sumatera Barat
Lithuania
Vilnius County
Morocco
Béni Mellal-Khénifra
Drâa-Tafilalet
Fez-Meknes
Marrakesh-Safi
Souss-Massa
Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima
Netherlands
Gelderland
Noord-Holland
Nicaragua
Chinandega
Managua
Masaya
Rivas
Poland
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Masovian Voivodeship
Portugal
Castelo Branco
Leiria
Lisbon
Santarém
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé Province
Spain
Aragón
Asturias
Castilla-La Mancha
Castilla y León
Switzerland
Zürich
Turkey
Antalya
Isparta
Muğla
United Kingdom
England
Scotland
United States
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Maryland
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
South Carolina
Pennsylvania
Virginia

TRIPS

2023
West Africa 2023 II
Iberian Peninsula 2023
West Africa 2023
Central America 2023
2022
Andes 2022
Northwest Europe 2022
Malay Archipelago III 2022
Malay Archipelago II 2022
Anatolia Mountains 2022
Iberian Peninsula 2022
Atlas Mountains 2022

archaeology (3) climb (69) food (2) hike (68) p30 (3) p100 (9) p300 (8) p600 (13) p1000 (5) p1500 (34) ribu (4) sight (34) summary (11) ultra (34)

839 km walked, 65 247 m climbed

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