Santa Luzia is the only major island of Cabo Verde with no permanent population, a place where the Atlantic still runs the show. Together with the islets of Branco and Raso it forms a strict nature reserve.
People did try to live here. Small farming and grazing settlements came and went over the centuries, always defeated by drought. The last herders left in the twentieth century, returning the island to the seabirds, the geckos and the wind.
The reserve protects some of the rarest life in the archipelago, including the Raso lark, one of the world's most range-restricted birds, found only on the neighbouring islet of Raso, and important nesting grounds for sea turtles on the southern beaches.
Visits are possible only with authorisation and a licensed guide, usually by boat from Calhau on São Vicente. Those who make it describe a landscape of dunes, bleached ridges and beaches without a single footprint.
Known for
- Nature reserve
- Untouched beaches
- Seabird colonies
- Endemic reptiles
Good to know
A star on the flag still belongs to Santa Luzia; every island counts, inhabited or not.
The island is part of a marine protected area covering its surrounding waters.
Fishermen from São Vicente shelter in its coves but do not settle.