Cabo Verde/Santo Antao: Riveira do Paul

Santo Antao (moving on to the next island) is not accessible by air and you have to take a ferry across the rough channel. The island is absolutely vertical – mountains rise from zero to 6,000 feet and deep valleys/canyons cut through them. The landscape is otherworldly and seems like taken from the set of Avatar (the sky mountains). From the high vintage point in the center of the island you can look down into the stunning Ribeira Paul snaking its way; clouds are below you, and tiny houses look like dots far down below. Not for those afraid of heights for sure. The water flows through the canyon and everything down there is green and fertile.