The 3 Most Amazing Peaks in Parque Natural Do Fogo

The climb is definitely worth it. And in the crater, there's smoke and a sulphurous smell.

Wire rope installed by Mustafa (Casa Marisa) with really nice brackets (hand-twisted)

The Pico do Fogo is a stratovolcanic cone that rises about 1200 m above the east side of the Chã das Caldeiras. The Chã das Caldeiras is a semicircular rock basin at a height of between 1600 m and 1700 m above sea level with a diameter of about 9 km. The Chã das Caldeiras is not a classic collapse crater, but was created by an enormous landslide. After that, the Pico do Fogo was built up on the east side. To the south and west, the Chã das Caldeiras is dominated by almost vertical, 1000 m high rock walls, the Bordeira de Fogo. A massive eruption from the main crater of the Pico in 1680 gave the island, then called "São Filipe", the name Fogo (English: "fire"), which it still uses today. Further eruptions followed in 1785, 1799, 1847, 1852, 1857 and 1951. During the eruption on April 2, 1995, the lava flow of which was limited to the interior of the Chã das Caldeiras, a small secondary volcano (Pico Pequeno 1950 m) was formed at the western foot of the Pico. After the eruption of Pico Pequeno, large parts of the cultural landscape in the Caldeira were destroyed, and the 2000 inhabitants were temporarily evacuated. On the morning of November 23, 2014, there was another eruption with ash and lava ejection at the same location as the 1995 eruption. The ongoing eruption destroyed the southern and central part of Portela and about 70% of the neighboring municipality of Bangaeira by December 7, 2014. The eruption increased in intensity and covered most of the hamlet of Portela with a lava flow that destroyed all the inhabitants' belongings. On February 8, 2015, the volcano stopped erupting again after 77 days. Living conditions are still not easy, there is no public water or electricity supply. Emerging tourism and small-scale viticulture are the main sources of income. Pico is part of a nature reserve. For the strenuous but not particularly difficult hike to the summit, it is not necessary to be accompanied by a mountain guide. The town of Chã das Caldeiras is connected to São Filipe, the main town on the island of Fogo, by a road via Salto and Monte Largo and can be reached by taxi, car and shared taxis ("aluguer", once a day). Coffee, beans, oranges, bananas and corn, among other crops, are grown on the northeast slopes of the island. The eastern slope of Pico is not accessible. A road runs along the coastline past the volcano to Mosteiros through a very barren landscape. The volcano is clearly visible almost the entire way.

The climb has a few challenging sections, I really only recommend it to people who like mountain hiking and who don't mind climbing on loose scree and in narrow places. We were with a guide but you can also do the climb without. The fastest climb so far was 56 minutes by an athlete from the island. Our guide told us that some people have taken 6 hours to get to the top.

Sublime hike. The trace matches perfectly. Take a guide, it’s really important for them and to protect the natural park. In addition you will have the history of the Caldera. The ascent of the pico is now equipped with a via ferratta but remains impressive for those who are not used to climbing. Be careful, the beginning of the descent is a more dangerous part because there are a lot of unstable stones that can roll down on people below and the path is not very clear.

The ascent of this picture-perfect volcano is highly recommended for those in good physical condition from guided tours. Above all, the view of the Caldeira is fantastic. The descent over ash fields is fun (more of a slide).

The ascent of the Pico do Fogo is a must for every Cape Verde visitor. Challenging, but as a reward, there is a magnificent panoramic view from over 2800 m.

Spectacular climb up to the crater rim of Pico do Fogo at 2770 meters. The actual summit is considered brittle and is not climbed on the guided tours. Officially, however, the crater rim is considered an ascent of the Pico do Fogo.