Cabo Verde · 16° N, 24° W · Atlantic Ocean
Ten islands.
One Atlantic soul.
Half a million people on a scatter of volcanoes off West Africa built one of the warmest cultures on Earth, a democracy the world admires, and a football team that just stared down the champions. Welcome to the atlas of Cabo Verde.
First bearings
A country made of horizon
Cabo Verde is an archipelago republic 600 kilometres off Senegal, where Africa, Europe and the Americas have mingled for five centuries. Uninhabited until 1462, its islands became the birthplace of Creole culture: the Kriolu language, a cuisine built on corn and the sea, and a habit of hospitality so famous it has its own name.
Each island is a different planet. One is a live volcano you can climb before breakfast. One is a desert of Saharan sand. One is a staircase of green canyons, and one is simply left to the seabirds.
Meet the culture →The numbers behind the stars
Small country, big story
The archipelago
Ten stars, ten worlds
The flag carries a circle of ten yellow stars, one for each island. Slide through them; every one has its own guide.
01
Santo Antão
The green cathedral of the north
02
São Vicente
The cultural heartbeat
03
Santa Luzia
The wild, uninhabited one
04
São Nicolau
The quiet scholar
05
Sal
Sun, salt and turquoise water
06
Boa Vista
Dunes, turtles and slow time
07
Maio
The gentle secret
08
Santiago
Where the nation began
09
Fogo
The living volcano
10
Brava
The island of flowers
July 2026
The night ten islands stopped the world
Spain held. Uruguay held. Saudi Arabia held. Then the reigning champions Argentina needed a deflected goal in the 111th minute to escape the smallest nation ever to reach the knockout rounds. If you only learn one modern Cape Verdean story, make it this one.
Relive the run →Go deeper
Choose your current
