-

The islands lie on an alignment of dormant volcanoes, with rugged landscapes, dense forests and virgin, palm-fringed beaches. Only open to tourists since 1987, many of these islands are still almost totally undiscovered by the tourist trade and provide unspoiled beauty and an isolation from the world now rarely found anywhere else. The history of the islands is dominated by the slave trade and slave-worked plantations. These plantations, now mostly nationalised, still remain a major feature of the landscape.

The island of São Tomé, with its capital of the same name, represents 90 per cent of the total surface of the country. São Tomé is a picturesque town, with colonial Portuguese architecture and attractive parks. There are a number of roças (cocoa plantations) on the island that are worth visiting: Agostinho Neto, the largest plantation in the country, is a clear example of São Tomé’s colonial past; other roças are Agua Izé, where visitors can tour the plantation by train, Monté Café and Ribeira Peixe. Other attractions on the island include the Boca de Inferno (Hell’s Mouth), a sea water fountain several metres high; the Cascada São Nicolãu waterfall near Pousada Boa Vista; the Ilheu da Rolas (Turtledove Island), a small island off São Tomé crossed by the equator; the Pico de São Tomé, the highest mountain in the archipelago (2024m/6800ft); the Porto Alegre, on the southern tip of the island; the ancient fishing town of São João dos Angolares; and the fortress of São Sebastião, which also houses a museum with a collection of religious and colonial art.

The small island of Príncipe is located 150km (94 miles) from São Tomé and its main town is Santo Antonio, which has preserved a distinctive colonial architecture and atmosphere. Dominated by two cocoa plantations, additional attractions for visitors are the Ilheu Bom Bom, a tiny island situated off Príncipe’s northern coast, where one of the country’s few tourist resorts is located; and the Pico de Principe, the island’s summit (948m/3128ft).