International hiking boom sends holiday rentals soaring in the Ribeira Grande valley

A valley that lives off the hiker

The number of visitors walking the routes to Cova and Paúl has grown steadily.

Pressure on traditional rentals

A house converted into tourist accommodation can bring in up to 60,000 CVE a week, far above local rental rates.

Local owners respond

Many families are renovating an inherited second home for tourist rental.

A model that worries officials

Warnings point to the risk of repeating tensions already seen on other islands in the archipelago.

Cova and Paúl, hiking's biggest draws

The routes to Cova and Paúl da Serra account for most of the flow of European hikers who visit Santo Antão each year. Adventure tourism agencies in Ribeira Grande and Ponta do Sol report steady growth in bookings in recent years. This boom has turned hiking into one of the valley's main economic drivers.

Returns far above traditional rentals

A house converted into tourist accommodation can bring in up to 60,000 CVE a week in high season, a figure far above what it would earn in long-term local rental. This gap explains why more and more owners are switching to the tourist model as soon as they get the chance. The comparison is especially stark set against the valley's average farming wages.

Families renovating their inherited home

Many families in Ribeira Grande and Ponta do Sol are renovating an inherited second home, often shut up for years, to put it to tourist rental. The investment in the refurbishment is usually funded from personal savings or remittances from family members who emigrated. This wave has revived the work of small local builders who had gone through a lean patch.

Warnings about a model already familiar on other islands

Tourism and housing officials warn that Santo Antão could repeat the tensions already experienced in Sal or Boa Vista, where tourism displaced much of the residential housing stock. They are calling for the growth of tourist accommodation in the valley to be accompanied by measures protecting permanent residents' access to housing. Ribeira Grande council is considering limiting the number of new licences in the main urban centre.