Pedras Tinhosas

The Tinhosas are two scrub-covered islets lying about twenty kilometres south of Príncipe, Tinhosa Grande and Tinhosa Pequena, and they carry one of the most important seabird colonies in the Gulf of Guinea: brown and black noddies, sooty terns, white-tailed tropicbirds and brown boobies nesting in numbers running into the hundreds of thousands on brush-covered ground with no fresh water. Since 2012 they have been part of the Príncipe UNESCO biosphere reserve. They are a Ramsar site and landing is restricted.

What's there

• The seabird colonies - hundreds of thousands of birds on two small islets.
• The brown noddies - the species present in the greatest numbers.
• The brushwood - scrub-covered islets with no fresh water at all.
• The Ramsar status - the protection covering the rocks and their waters.

When to go

June to September is the calmer season for the crossing. Seabirds are present through much of the year. Swell frequently prevents approach.

Before you go

Landing is restricted to protect the colonies and permission is rarely given. The crossing is twenty kilometres of open water and is often cancelled. There is no shelter of any kind on the rocks.

Nearby

Príncipe is north, and São Tomé is far southwest.

Key facts