Pico da Cruz

Pico da Cruz stands at close to sixteen hundred metres on the high plateau of Santo Antão, in an area planted with pine and cypress during the twentieth century to hold the soil and catch moisture from the cloud. The viewpoints along the plateau edge look down into the Paul and Janela valleys, thousands of feet below and often filled with cloud, and walking routes descend from here into both.

Background

Pico da Cruz, whose Portuguese name means "peak of the cross", is a mountain of 1585 m in the eastern part of Santo Antão. It stands 5 km southwest of the town of Pombas. A village close by, also called Pico da Cruz and part of the municipality of Paul, takes its name from the mountain, and the peak lies within the protected Cova-Paul-Ribeira da Torre Natural Park.

Source: Wikipedia, "Pico da Cruz"

The landscape

• The plateau viewpoints - drops into the Paul and Janela valleys below.
• The pine plantations - the trees planted to hold soil and catch cloud moisture.
• The cloud sea - the trade wind cloud filling the valleys below the rim.
• The descent routes - walking paths dropping into the valleys.

When to go

November to June is the dry season. Cloud on the plateau is frequent and closes the views. It is cold up here compared with the coast.

Things to know

Cloud sits on the plateau much of the time and the views are often absent entirely. The roads up are rough. There are no facilities.

Nearby

Cova de Paul is southeast, and Ribeira Grande is north.

Key facts