Here is another unusual mountain I found on the Internet. It is called Pico Cão Grande, which translates as the Peak of the Great Dog and is located on the small island of Sao Tome in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Africa
It is one of the tallest needle-shaped volcanic peaks on Earth, with a height of 300 meters, second only to Devil's Tower in Wyoming. It is very difficult to photograph it, as the summit is most often hidden in the clouds.
The mountain looks like a giant finger pointing to the sky. On the top, covered with many lianas, only birds nest, and some species of snakes also live. And this is what the peak looks like in the image from space.
The tower, shrouded in fog, looks very serene and majestic. It can be compared in some way to Mount Roraima, which we wrote about recently.
Among the rare species of living creatures inhabiting the island of Sao Tome are the sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea, the giant toad Sao Tome, as well as other rare species.
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Climbing to the top is considered a very difficult undertaking.
The islands were discovered by Portuguese sailors between 1469 and 1471. The first settlement on the island of Sao Tome was founded in 1493 by the Portuguese Alvar Caminha, who received this land as a gift from the Portuguese crown. By the middle of the 16th century, with the help of slave labor, the Portuguese had turned the islands of Sao Tome and Principe into the largest suppliers of sugar to European markets.
After 100 years, sugar production subsided, and by the middle of the 17th century, Sao Tome was only a port for temporary anchorage of ships. At the beginning of the 19th century, cocoa and coffee were cultivated here. The rich volcanic soils made it possible to obtain rich harvests, and practically all the territory suitable for cultivation of the islands was occupied by plantations. By 1908, Sao Tome had become the largest cocoa producer in the world.
The plantation system was based on the brutal exploitation of hired workers from the African continent (in particular, from Angola). Although Portugal officially abolished slavery as early as 1876, the working conditions on the plantations were close to slavery. This led to unrest, the largest of which occurred in 1953, when hundreds of African workers were killed in clashes with Portuguese planters.
In 1960, a small group of people from Sao Tome created the Committee for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe, based in neighboring Gabon. In 1972, the committee was reorganized into the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSPI).
On July 12, 1975, the state of Sao Tome and Principe gained independence.
There is an international airport.
Forests cover about 3% of the territory. The flora of the islands includes about 560 plant species, but 19.4% of the species are endemic on Sao Tome and 12.7% on Principe. Tropical forests have survived only on the mountain slopes at an altitude of 900 m above sea level. Peach and citrus trees also grow on the slopes of the mountains covered with dense thickets of tall kapim grass. On the coasts, at the mouths of the rivers, there are mangrove forests. The coastal areas are home to bananas, mangoes, almonds, cocoa trees, coconut trees, oba (giant tropical trees), papaya (melon trees), cinchona and breadfruit trees. Since 1990, a forest conservation program funded by the European Union has been implemented on Sao Tome Island.
Greener and more untouched by human intervention than even the nearby Cape Verde Islands, Sao Tome and Principe is also safer and more beautiful than most of the African mainland. The nature of the islands, with the exception of extensive cocoa plantations, has retained the same appearance as before the arrival of a person here, and the colorful volcanic landscape with an abundance of rocky cliffs and picturesque headlands extending into the azure waters of the ocean resembles the blessed Canary Islands or exotic Seychelles. Here, without undue stress from the "hordes" of organized tourists, you can get acquainted with the original culture, which is a "hot" combination of Creole, African and Portuguese roots with a light Latin style and rhythm of life. Snorkeling near pristine shores or climbing ancient, and therefore low,volcanoes or watching the amazing life of birds that are not found anywhere else in the world - the best pastime on this tiny piece of land in the Atlantic Ocean.
Lush jungle, clear waters and the colonial architecture of the Portuguese style, incredibly natural in its combination with the local landscapes, make rest here a real rest for the soul and body, and some underdevelopment of the tourist service only gives the rest a certain advantage and is absolutely not burdensome due to low prices.
North Sao Tome is very beautiful and full of the strange charm of extinct volcanoes that resemble huge pillars, some of which exceed 600 m, as if "growing" right out of the jungle. The coasts are lined with white sandy shores and have beautiful and clear waters.
Sao Tome and Principe is the smallest state in Africa.
Sao Tome and Principe is the smallest Portuguese-speaking country in the world.
To enter the country, you must have a passport and visa. Only a single entry visa is issued for a private and tourist invitation; for a service invitation, it is possible to issue a multivisa for a specific period. Traveling with children on a service invitation is difficult. Consular fee is charged.
The best place to get a visa is Malabo in neighboring Equatorial Guinea.