Introduction
Ribeira Grande municipality holds Fontainhas and the Cova-crater descent, its best-known draws — its further ground is the mountain road connecting it to the island's drier southern half.
Overview
The Corda road, cut into Santo Antão's central ridge, connects Ribeira Grande's green, well-watered northern side to Porto Novo's considerably drier south, climbing to well over 1,500 metres through switchbacks carved directly into the mountainside — a genuinely dramatic piece of mid-20th-century road engineering, built without modern machinery through some of the roughest terrain in the archipelago. The crossing is as much a climate boundary as a physical one: the north side, fed by moisture-trapping cloud cover, supports the terraced farmland and lush valleys the island is known for, while the south, in the ridge's rain shadow, turns markedly drier and browner within a matter of kilometres — a shift visible from the car window rather than something that needs explaining, and one of the clearest demonstrations anywhere in Cape Verde of how a single mountain ridge can split an island into two different climates.
Discover Ribeira Grande
Santo Antão's central mountain ridge separated its northern and southern halves so completely that a proper road connection wasn't built until the mid-20th century, and the Corda road that eventually crossed it remains a genuinely impressive piece of engineering — a route of tight switchbacks climbing well over 1,500 metres, built into the mountainside largely by hand in an era before the heavy machinery a project like this would use today. Driving it now, decades after construction, still means slow, deliberate progress up and over the ridge rather than a quick hop, and the road itself is as much a reason to make the crossing as whatever waits on the other side.
Ways to Experience This Destination
A mid-20th-century mountain road climbing over 1,500 metres across Santo Antão's central ridge, built largely by hand.
A visible shift from green, moisture-fed terraces to drier southern terrain, crossed in a single drive.
Frequently asked questions
Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.