The Legend tells you what the arrows í mean and how the terms "right" and "left" are used.

Madeiral - Assomada Figueira - Palha Carga

Palha Carga -- Atlantic at its best

List of Tracks
and  Classification

The South Coast of São Vicente island is structured into isolated valleys, separated from one another by mountain chains, leading down from the axis Mindelo - Calhão to the coastline. There are some footpaths and dust-roads for four wheel drives entering the area, most of them ending at a deserted gravel beach. Palha Carga is the lovely exception with its large yellow sand beach. On the week ends, it attracts groups of youngsters having a good time camping, diving, swimming and, especially liked, playing beach-football.  During the week you hardly ever find anybody there.

Palha Carga is a hot spot in the Development Plan for many years but never transformed into a tourist resort If this is not exactly what you had in mind - hurry up! Otherwise, just wait a few years and then come back with a package tour.

The way we describe here crosses from the mainroad at Madeiral over a pass to a little farmhouse close to the beach.

For the way back, we recommend the dustroad track 207. It does not only have the advantage to be so easy and safe that you can walk in the dusk - it also arrives at the mainroad much closer to the city. In Madeiral it is difficult to find transport.

Starting point
is the long strait of the main road to Calhau before it reaches Madeiral.  When having passed the pass of Assomada de Madeiral, for the first time you watch down on the village. Watch out for a dustroad to the south [MADE01] , connecting to some houses and changing into a simple footpath crossing the Chã de Madeiral slowly uphills ê.

If you miss this starting point and reach the centre of the village of Madeiral , don't worry. There is another track from the school house  í to the Assomada.

Anyway, we reach the steeper ascent to the pass of Assomada Figueira. [FIGUEI] and have a first view over to the coast in the South, framed by the massive of the Madeiral range and the pyramide shaped Tope de Caixa in the west.

After a short descent ê you come to a place where a track separates to the hillside î. That one climbs some 100m to the Fonte Figueira, a tiny mountain Oasis. [PALH12] From rocks coated with moss, water drips to the ground, feeding a couple of huge almond trees where you may rest. A direct descent to join the path is possible  í despite not being the best.

Mainly on the ground of the valley, partly alongside of the slope, the trail goes in a direct line ê down to Palha Carga.