Uninhabited until the Portuguese arrived in 1471, the equatorial African island of Príncipe has a dark history as a slaving hub and a "place of exile for the desperados of Portuguese society: convicts, heretics and outcasts". Today, it is "poor but paradisiacal", says Catherine Fairweather in Condé Nast Traveller, its verdant forests home to as many endemic species as the Galápagos, and its golden beaches free of tourist crowds. Just 19 miles long and four miles wide, it lies 150 miles off the coast of West Africa, and is the smaller and wilder partner in the independent nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. Getting here from the UK involves "a layover in Lisbon, a touchdown in Accra and a night in São Tomé", but the journey is well worth it.
The jungle has reclaimed some of the island's roças, or agricultural estates – "self-contained universes with hospitals, nurseries, lodgings and railway terminals". Most atmospheric is the ruined Ribeira Izé, the island's first settlement, ruled over in the 19th century by Maria Correia, a mestiza (mixed-race) woman who owned hundreds of slaves. Others have been sensitively restored as hotels. At Roça Sundy, the astronomer Arthur Eddington made the observations that proved Einstein's theory of general relativity in 1919. Today, locals still gather "to shoot the breeze" on its grassy square, and the mansion where guests stay is "an elegant time warp of slow-whirring ceiling fans and hardwood floors". It is owned by South African software mogul Mark Shuttleworth, who has invested heavily in conservation in Príncipe, and has three other hotels, including Sundy Praia, a beach resort of "glamorous" tented villas.
The island's capital, Santo António, has nine "noteworthy" restaurants, some merely shacks but all "serving great food cooked by formidable doyens". And there's much to do elsewhere, including forest hikes, boat trips to "remote and sensational" beaches, visits to "healers, medicine men and rum-shack entrepreneurs", and snorkelling in the "cinematic" Bay of Needles.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
10 upcoming albums to stream during spooky seasonThe Week Recommends As fall arrives, check out new albums from Taylor Swift, Jeff Tweedy, the Lemonheads and more
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
A Spinal Tap reunion, Thomas Pynchon by way of Paul Thomas Anderson and a harrowing Stephen King adaptation in September moviesthe week recommends This month’s new releases include ‘Spinal Tap II,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘The Long Walk’
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
