The classic Santo Antão walk and the reason most travellers come to Ponta do Sol. Get a transfer up to Cova de Paúl, the rim of a long-extinct volcanic crater at 1,170 m, and walk back down the Ribeira Grande valley to the coast. The path drops through cloud forest, terraced sugarcane fields, banana groves, and tiny stone villages clinging to the steep walls.
It is one of the most extraordinary day hikes in West Africa — about four hours downhill with a vertical drop of more than a kilometre. Local rum (grogue) is distilled from the cane you walk past. End the day with a glass on the waterfront in Ponta do Sol and the journey will make perfect sense.