Sao Tome: Sao Nicolau Waterfall & Botanical Gardens
A road leads into the central highlands of the São Tomé island and after a lot of twisting and turning arrives at a beautiful waterfall – Sao Nicolau. Not particularly big or thundering, the setting is beautiful – overgrown with jungle and ferns and tropical flowers. Just nearby are the famous São Tomé Botanical Gardens, established by the Portuguese to identify and collect local orchids (there are over 100 species and perhaps many still unknown to science hiding deep in the impenetrable rainforest). The gardens are small and rather simple but give a good overview of the local flora and the orchid collection is quite substantial.
