The road climbs over the 2014 lava to a village at 1,700 m (5,600 ft).
At six in the morning you start: 1,100 m (3,600 ft) of loose scree, three to four hours, no shade.
And then the way down – under an hour, straight down the ash.
Scroll –
up the cone
Pico do Fogo is the highest mountain in Cape Verde and an active volcano that last erupted in 2014/15. Today it is quiet: after the earthquake of 12 July 2026 the national meteorology and geophysics institute INMG saw no anomalies and no cause for concern. There is no closure, no entrance fee and no online booking. What there is, is a rule that the park lives by: you climb to the summit with a mountain guide from Chã das Caldeiras.
No known closure as of 23 September 2026. In an emergency the civil protection service SNPC closes the mountain – as in 2014, when it banned the climb and any approach within 500 m of the cone. In storms the guides themselves call it off.
The village's mountain guides are organized in the Associação de Guias Turísticos de Chã das Caldeiras. You book through the guesthouse you sleep in – many hosts guide themselves. We found no regulation behind the rule; it is park practice, and the route is not marked.
As far as the village and on the trails through the caldera you need neither a guide nor a ticket. The Parque Natural do Fogo charges no entrance fee. Only the Monte Velha forest checkpoint on the trail to Mosteiros collects 200 CVE.
Photo: Cayambe · CC BY-SA 3.0
Chã das Caldeiras is a place that should not really exist: about 700 people inside a caldera nine kilometers (5.6 miles) across, between the lava flows of 1951, 1995 and 2014, with grapevines growing in black lapilli. Above it all stands the cone, almost symmetrical, 1,100 m (3,600 ft) above the village.
The day starts in the dark. At six the guide is waiting outside the guesthouse; half an hour across the lava field brings you to the foot of the cone. Then it gets steep: loose scree at about 30 degrees, every step sliding back a little. There is no marked trail, only the line the guides take. Three to four hours, no shade, and behind you the Bordeira, the caldera wall up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high.
At the crater rim, steel cables secure the last few meters. Small fumaroles steam inside the crater, it smells of sulfur, and on a clear day the neighboring islands of Santiago and Brava sit out in the ocean. There is no glowing lava – the last of it flowed on 8 February 2015.
The descent is the part everyone talks about: instead of going back down the scree you take long strides straight down the ash slopes, half a meter per step, the whole cone done in under an hour. Your boots fill with black lapilli, and your knees notice it that evening.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. The selection for Fogo is small. The coffee-plantation day tour is an island tour, not a summit climb. If you stay in the village, you usually book the guide directly through the guesthouse.
There is no ticket office, no permit and no quota. Everything runs through the village – and through timing: if you arrive by shared taxi from São Filipe at midday, you will not reach the summit that day.
Since the rebuilding, Portela and Bangaeira have about ten guesthouses with roughly 100 beds. Example Casa do Alcindo: 3,500 CVE with breakfast, dinner 700 CVE. The hosts arrange the guide – reserve the day before, earlier in the December–March high season.
Documented benchmark for 2026: 6,000 CVE for a group of up to three, 2,000 CVE for each additional person. Cash only; euros are accepted, change is scarce. The only ATM is in São Filipe.
Start at 6 to 6:30 am so you are up before the midday heat. Three to four hours on loose scree, and at the crater rim a short section secured with steel cables – sure footing needed, no climbing skills.
30 to 60 minutes down, five to six hours in total, up to seven with children. Gaiters or high boots keep the lapilli out. In storms or thunderstorms – rare, August to October – the guides cancel.
| Entrance to the Parque Natural do Fogo | no fee |
| Mountain guide Pico do Fogo, group of up to 3 · booked through the guesthouse | 6,000 CVE · about €54 |
| Mountain guide, each additional person from the fourth | 2,000 CVE · about €18 |
| Monte Velha checkpoint on the Chã – Mosteiros trail | 200 CVE · about €1.80 |
| Shared taxi (aluguer) São Filipe – Chã das Caldeiras, one way | 900–1,000 CVE · about €8–9 |
| Private taxi São Filipe – Chã das Caldeiras, one way | 6,000 CVE · about €54 |
| Day tour from São Filipe with transfer and guide (operator) | €78–85 |
| Guesthouse in Chã das Caldeiras, example Casa do Alcindo with breakfast | 3,500 CVE · about €32 |
Photo: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.0
One cone, one route – but three ways to walk it. All start in Portela at about 1,700 m (5,600 ft), and all end down the ash slopes.
| Standard route from Portela – from the village (about 1,717 m / 5,633 ft) across the lava field to the foot of the cone, then up loose ash and scree to the crater rim (2,829 m / 9,281 ft); about 8 km (5 miles), 1,100–1,140 m (3,600–3,740 ft) of climbing, Alpine Club grade T3 | 3–4 h up · 30–60 min down · 6,000 CVE for up to 3 |
| Loop via Pico Pequeno – summit, then descent to the 1995 cone (about 2,020 m / 6,630 ft) and back across the 2014 lava fields; 11–12 km (7–7.5 miles) | 6–7 h · supplement about 2,000 CVE (as of 03/2024) |
| Day tour from São Filipe – hotel pickup, 1–1.5 hours' transfer each way, then the same climb with a guide from Chã; Monday to Sunday, weather permitting | full day · €78–85 per person |
Photo: Zinneke · CC BY-SA 3.0
Without a car: From São Filipe (market/bus station) shared taxis (aluguer, mostly Hiace minibuses) leave for Chã das Caldeiras as soon as they are full – in the late morning around 11 a.m. to noon and in the afternoon, 1.5–2 hours, 900–1,000 CVE. Return from Chã at 6 a.m. and at midday; hardly any vehicles run on Sundays. Private taxi about 6,000 CVE (€50–60) each way. The road from São Filipe via Santa Catarina into the caldera is asphalted or cobbled; inside the caldera you drive across the 2014 lava on a newly built track.
By car: Rental cars in São Filipe are scarce (a December 2025 travel report: 7,000 CVE per day, hard to get); a four-wheel-drive vehicle makes sense. Park in the village at the guesthouse.
November to June (dry season): clear views, dry trails, pleasant 20–25 °C in the village during the day. The coolest months are January and February; from December to March the 'bruma seca' (Saharan dust in the trade wind) can blur the view of Santiago and Brava. August to October is the rainy season – mostly short showers, but humid and with a risk of thunderstorms. Time of day: start at 6 a.m., then you are at the top before the midday heat and back for lunch; the view is clearest in the morning.
Photo: Martin Mergili · CC BY 3.0
If you do not want the summit or cannot do it, the caldera still fills a whole day – and the wine is worth a trip of its own.
The 1995 cinder cone at the foot of the Pico, source of the lava in 1995 and 2014; its crater is colored red, yellow and black. With a guide about an hour from Portela.
The 2014 flow buried the school, the hotel and about 75 percent of the buildings. Today houses built of lava stone stand on the lava. Freely accessible; the guides show a lava tube near Pico Pequeno.
The wine cooperative with 102 members makes white, red, rosé, passito and sparkling wine, with a protected designation of origin since 2021. Open mornings only according to one travel report – not confirmed.
Over the caldera wall (up to 2,700 m / 8,860 ft) and down through the Monte Velha cloud forest to the northeast coast, through coffee plantations and across the 1951 lava. 11 km (7 miles), 5–7 hours, taxi back.
Photo: imke.stahlmann · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Zinneke · CC BY-SA 3.0
Demanding but without climbing skills: a good 1,100 m (3,600 ft) of continuous ascent on loose lapilli and scree at about 30 degrees, with a short cable-secured section at the crater rim. The German Alpine Club grades it T3. If you regularly hike 1,000 m of ascent, you will be up in three to four hours.
There is no entrance fee. According to 2026 travel reports the guide costs about 6,000 CVE (about €54) for up to three people, 2,000 CVE for each additional person. Add the journey (shared taxi 900–1,000 CVE each way) and a night in the village (example 3,500 CVE with breakfast). Day tours from São Filipe with transfer cost €78–85 per person.
Yes, with an operator: hotel pickup, 1 to 1.5 hours' drive, 4 to 6 hours' hike, back in the afternoon. Not on your own – the shared taxis leave only late in the morning once they are full, and the guides start at six.
Yes. The volcano last erupted from 23 November 2014 to 8 February 2015, before that in 1995 and 1951. The INMG monitors it seismically; as of September 2026 there are no anomalies and no closure.
The cinder cone of just under 2,000 m (6,600 ft) at the foot of the Pico, formed in the 1995 eruption. Its fissures also released the 2014 lava. With a guide it takes about an hour from Portela – the option for younger children, or the descent on the loop route.
Yes, as of 22 September 2026 there is no closure. After the earthquake of 12 July 2026 the INMG saw no anomalies at the Fogo volcano and no cause for concern. In an emergency the civil protection service SNPC would close it, as in 2014.
Nothing. The park charges no entrance fee; only at the Monte Velha forest post on the trail to Mosteiros are 200 CVE due. The municipality of Santa Catarina is discussing an access fee to Chã, but it has not been adopted.
Officially no: a guide from Chã das Caldeiras (AGTC) is mandatory for the summit. No regulation on this was found, and it is not always enforced – but the trail is unmarked, and the guides are the village's main source of income.
According to a 2026 travel report around 6,000 CVE (about €54) for a group of up to three people, each additional person 2,000 CVE. Older figures (€25–35) are outdated. Day tours from São Filipe with transfer cost about €78–85 per person.
Three to four hours up, barely an hour down the ash slopes – five to six hours in total from Chã das Caldeiras. With the descent via Pico Pequeno or with children it is six to seven hours.
Around 1,100–1,140 m (3,609–3,740 ft) of elevation gain: Chã das Caldeiras lies at about 1,700 m (5,577 ft), the summit at 2,829 m (9,281 ft). The trail is about 8 km (5 miles) long, 11–12 km (7–7.5 miles) with Pico Pequeno.
For sure-footed, athletic children from about 9–10 years, yes – a family group with children aged 9 and up was up and down in 6 hours in 2025. For younger children the guides offer Pico Pequeno in about an hour.
Ankle-high hiking boots, long pants, windproof jacket and hat for the summit, sun hat and sunscreen for the shadeless ascent, at least 1.5 liters of water, food, gaiters against the ash. In Chã the winter nights are cool.
From São Filipe by shared taxi (900–1,000 CVE, 1.5–2 hours, departures in the late morning and afternoon, back from 6 a.m.) or taxi (about 6,000 CVE). You reach São Filipe from Praia by plane (Cabo Verde Airlines, 30 minutes, about €75) or by CV Interilhas ferry (about 4 hours, from about 4,450 CVE, three departures per week).
Fogo is active and last erupted in 2014/15, but is seismically monitored by the INMG; eruptions give warning. The everyday risks are heat, sun, loose scree and the cable-secured crater rim – so start early, drink plenty and stay with the guide.
No glowing lava; the eruption ended on 8 February 2015. In the summit crater small fumaroles steam and it smells of sulfur; in the caldera you walk across the black 2014 lava that buried Portela.
November to June: dry, clear, mild during the day. January/February are the coolest, December to March sometimes brings Saharan dust. August to October is humid with showers. Always start at 6 a.m.
Yes, in the rebuilt guesthouses of Portela and Bangaeira (in 2019 around ten houses with about 100 beds; example Casa do Alcindo: 3,500 CVE with breakfast, dinner 700 CVE). The hosts also arrange the guide for the early start.
No. There is no ticket, no online booking and no permit; you only pay the guide in cash. You should reserve the guide the day before through your accommodation.
Photo: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.0
Sources · accessed on 22 September 2026
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