Have you always fancied climbing a volcano? How about Pico do Fogo in Cape Verde!
There are many volcanoes across the Cape Verde archipelago, but none as iconic (and steep) as Pico do Fogo. The locals who live on the valley floor, in the Chã das Caldeiras, page homage to the scale of the volcano with the name Pico Grande. Living here, it would be impossible not to acknowledge the impressive stature of Fogo, which dominates the skyline from all angles.
Susanne talks us through her second Fogo Volcano Ascent:
Flying from Santiago to Fogo
Sitting on the right-hand side of the plane on our flight from Santiago to Fogo, we already had some awesome views of the near-vertical mountain that we were hoping to climb. I had already been to the top in 2016, when it was considered safe to climb again after the eruption in 2014.
Back then, there was only one hotel in the Chã das Calderas crater, Casa Marisa II. This had to be rebuilt because the original didn’t survive. Rather incredibly, they built the new Casa right on top of the hot lava mass from the eruption. The floors in the rooms were still too hot to walk on without wearing footwear!
Rebuilding after the 2014 Eruption
Since my first visit, things had moved on and the resilient crater people were re-building their houses again, some on the rooftop of their old houses, others right on the lava that had been levelled out. It’s a slow process, as there isn’t a lot of heavy building equipment on the island and lots of it is still done manually. But most importantly, they were only able to build again once the lava had been cooled down completely. The old road too had been destroyed by the lava flows and the new road from the crater rim down to the villages of Portela and Bangaeira was officially opened in July 2019.
My second ascent, with Carlos as my guide.
My guide Carlos took me to the top. We set off early in the morning at 06:30 (some people leave earlier) after a quick breakfast and followed the dirt road to the start of the climb. We negotiated lava flows, ash fields, and small dry riverbeds until we got to a ridge. Here you can see people slowly making their way up the zig-zag path. By the time we reached what looks like a big wall, the sun had come out on our left-hand side and we could see the clouds, well below us, entering the caldera from the east. The last push was the hardest, and I had to use my hands to get around a few boulders and rocky outcrop.
Reaching the Crater Rim
We reached the rim after 3 hours, and decided to scramble to the ultimate top, which is aided by iron cables. It’s worth the effort, you get the most breath-taking panoramic views of the Pico de Fogo crater and the Chã das Caldeiras.
An exhilarating scree run down the flanks of Fogo
The way down can be a bit tricky and you again may need to use your hands. But after less than 30 minutes, you traverse left to a very steep lava field, covered in fine ash. This is where the fun starts! Unlike some of the scree running in the UK, this is more like coming down a steep slope of very fine rock. Yes, you have to cover up your face (a buff is always handy) and your boots will fill up, but boy is it fun! You can take it easy and slowly zig-zag your way down, or you can run in big leaping strides. Descending a nearly 3000m mountain has never been that easy.
Altogether the climb can take between four to seven hours. It all depends on your fitness and how confident you are on the descent. Its a tiring walk up but you can proudly say that you have climbed one of the world’s steepest volcanoes!
If you would like to chat to someone who has climbed to the summit of Fogo, ask for Max, Jake, or Paul:
You can read all about Max’s experience of the ascent HERE.