Of all the activities that I love to do when I’m traveling, hiking has to be near the top of the list. Getting to walk through the nature and natural beauty a destination has to offer can be a really special way to connect with a place. I try to incorporate hiking into all my travels.
When it comes to São Tomé and hiking, Obo National Park is the place to go. There are lot of different trails, all with varying degrees of difficulties and even an option for a multi-day trip.
Geologic and Natural History São Tomé
Between São Tomé and Principe, the islands are about 90% covered in forests and about a quarter of the islands are primary forests. From a biodiversity standpoint, these two islands are incredibly rich with a high variety of different kinds of plants and insects and they rival places like Madagascar and the Galapagos.
The islands a part of the Main Cameroon line of volcanic activity that stretches through Nigeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Ancient lava plugs soar above the landscape where the shield volcano had eroded away. The oldest parts of the islands date to 31 million years ago, making these islands three times older than the Hawai’ian islands and six times older than the Galapagos.
Bom Sucesso to Bombaim Hike
I and the friend I was traveling with in February 2018 decided to do the 6-hour Bom Sucesso to Bombaim hike. My friend has hiked in numerous places around the world, and she said this was the most beautiful jungle hike she had done.
This trip begins in Bom Sucesso at the botanical gardens. We didn’t visit the gardens, as it was a Sunday and they were closed. We set off through some local farming plots until we reached the entrance to the National Park. Here, the trail climbed up to Lagoa Amelia. We didn’t detour there, but our guide told us that it’s a crater lake that has been overgrown with lots of water plants that have carpeted the surface so that you can barely see the water any more.
Not to long after passing Lagoa Amelia, we reached the highest point of the hike for the day, with much of the last 4 hours being downhill. There were a few times there was a break in the trees with stunning views of the surrounding landscape. We also walked through a number of crumbling ruins of collapsed plantations and roças before we arrived at the former roça and current hotel, Bombaim.
Other Trail Options
There are a handful of hiking options when it comes to São Tomé. You can arrange a multi-day camping trip that will take to the summit of Pico São Tomé, the highest point in the country, or you can do a short trip to Lagoa Amelia. I definitely recommend finding a guide to take you. I went through Navetur Equatour and was very pleased with their offerings, and the services.