A country · 39 places · 8 regions

São Tomé and Príncipe, all of it.

39 curated places across 8 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

São Tomé · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Caué, Lobata, Água Grande and Mé-Zóchi — read below as chapters, with 4 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Caué · 6 places

Caué

A needle of volcanic rock spiking about 370 meters straight out of the southern jungle, this phonolite tower is one of the world's most dramatic volcanic plugs. Most visitors admire it from the road through the palm forest, while elite climbers attempt its slick, snake-inhabited walls.

Pico Cão Grande

Caué, São Tomé and Príncipe

✦ June to September, when clouds lift most often

Ilhéu das Rolas

Caué, São Tomé and Príncipe

✦ June to September

São João dos Angolares

Caué, São Tomé and Príncipe

All 6 places in Caué →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Lobata · 5 places

Lobata

This vast former cocoa plantation preserves colonial-era buildings, a hospital, and worker quarters. Its decaying grandeur offers a window into the island's plantation history.

✦ June to September

Meet Roça Agostinho Neto All 5 places in Lobata →

Chapter III · Água Grande · 4 places

Água Grande

The pastel capital of Africa's second-smallest nation wraps around Ana Chaves Bay with Portuguese colonial churches, a 16th-century fort housing the national museum, and a mellow waterfront market scene. Cocoa-era plantation houses and chocolate makers hint at the island's roça heritage.

São Tomé

Água Grande, São Tomé and Príncipe

✦ June to September, during the dry gravana season · $$

São Sebastião Museum

Água Grande, São Tomé and Príncipe

✦ June–September · $

Presidential Palace, São Tomé

Água Grande, São Tomé and Príncipe

✦ June–September · $

All 4 places in Água Grande →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Mé-Zóchi · 4 places

Mé-Zóchi

This mountain botanical garden sits at the edge of São Tomé's Obô rainforest. Endemic orchids and begonias thrive along trails that climb toward the island's peaks.

✦ June to September

Meet Bom Sucesso All 4 places in Mé-Zóchi →