La Cova, Santo Antão's farming crater, caught between environmental protection and pressure to build

A crater turned market garden

At over 1,176 metres, La Cova retains terraced farming within a natural park.

First requests for tourist construction

Investors are enquiring about building small mountain lodgings on the crater's rim.

Environmental regulations act as a brake

Any construction requires express authorisation, with traditional farming use given priority.

Farmers torn between selling and holding out

Many resist selling land their families have farmed for generations.

A microclimate unique on the island

La Cova's altitude produces a cool, humid microclimate favourable to crops such as potatoes, maize and various vegetables, in marked contrast to the more arid areas of Santo Antão's coast. This microclimate, combined with the crater's own scenery, explains both the site's traditional agricultural value and some investors' recent interest in its potential for mountain tourism.

Interest from rural tourism operators

Several tour operators have shown interest in developing small rural-style lodgings on the crater's rim, capitalising on growing demand for hiking and nature tourism in Santo Antão, one of the islands most prized by visitors seeking mountain scenery. None of these proposals has yet received final authorisation from the environmental authorities responsible.

Protecting the natural park comes first

The regulations governing the Santo Antão Natural Park expressly prioritise traditional agricultural use over any other use of the land, which requires interested developers to apply for specific permits that are difficult to obtain. Park officials have indicated that any authorised construction should remain small in scale and use materials and volumes consistent with the existing agricultural landscape, avoiding any alteration to the crater's character.

Farmers split along generational lines

Among La Cova's farmers themselves, views differ: older generations tend to reject any sale of land their families have farmed for decades, while some children and grandchildren see tourism as an economic alternative to increasingly unprofitable farming. This generational divide could, according to local observers, determine the future use of land in the crater over the medium term.