La Fora Ecolodge

Taxi Prices to La Fora

The easiest way to get around on Fogo is using taxis, and the taxi prices are set by the mayor’s office in Sao Filipe (no need to bargain!).

• Sao Filipe to La Fora: 1000 CVE
• Airport to La Fora: 1000 CVE
• Port to La Fora: 1500 CVE

Trusted Taxi Drivers (Taximen)

You can find a taxi once you arrive, but if you would like to contact a driver to meet you, these are some trusted drivers that have been recommended by guests.

• Edmar:
  • Number: +238 984 0865
  • Languages: English, French, Portuguese, Kriolu
• Maiuca
  • Number: +238 993 8058
  • Languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Kriolu
• Valdimar
  • Number: +238 982 6030
  • Languages: English, French, Portuguese, Kriolu
• Arsenio
  • Number: +238 956 3780
  • Languages: Portuguese, Kriolu
• George (arranges vans for larger groups)
  • Number: +238 994 3078
  • Languages: French, Portuguese, Kriolu

Rental Cars

There are rental cars available in Sao Filipe from InterCidade rental company.

• Number: +238 281 3334 (office)
• Website: www.intercidadesrentacar.cv

Walking

If you want to see a little more of the countryside and are willing to take a little more time (and get a pretty good workout), La Fora Ecolodge is a 1 hour 45 minute hike from Sao Filipe.  Look for us on Google Maps or any hiking app.

Collectivos

These are shared taxis that are usually less expensive than a regular taxi, although they cannot be arranged ahead of time and you will need to go to the central market in Sao Filipe or wait by the side of the road to find one.  Any taxi driver at the airport or port can take you to the market, and you can wait for a collectivo to La Fora there.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served at the bar from 8:00am – 10:00am.  If you have an excursion or a transfer that leaves earlier than 8:00am, please let us know the night before.  We will prepare a breakfast bag for you that you can pick up after dinner.

Lunch/Bar Menu

We serve tapas, salads, sandwiches and lunch plates starting at 12:30pm and ending at 9:00pm daily.  Feel free to order your food to the pool, and don’t forget to get one of our signature cocktails to enjoy with your meal!

Dinner Specials (by Reservation Only)

We serve a special dinner menu for hotel guests each night by reservation only, starting at 7:00pm and ending at 7:45pm.  The dinner special includes a choice of starter, a choice of main (including a vegan option), two side dishes and a dessert.  Guests should reserve their meal by 2:00pm if they would like one of the dinner specials.  If you don’t tell us; no worries!  The La Fora Bar Menu is available until 9:00pm every day.

We accept euros, dollars, and escudos.  We can also accept credit cards, although there is a 2.5% card fee.  You can pay for your room at the beginning or the end of your stay, and we will keep a tab for you of any food or drink that you consume.  If you are part of a large group we will put everything on one tab unless you request otherwise.

The La Fora Pool is open to all hotel guests, although children 16 and under must be accompanied by a parent or other responsible adult at all times.

The pool is open from 8:00am to 6:30pm.

There is no lifeguard on duty at the pool at any time.

Please do not take room towels down to the pool.  If you need to borrow a towel for the pool, please ask at the bar.  As an ecolodge, we recycle old room towels and use them for the pool.  The towels may not be perfectly white, but they are perfectly clean. 🙂

If you would like a cushion on your pool lounger you are welcome to borrow a yoga mat from the La Fora farmhouse.

Excursions can be arranged through independent drivers and guides or through travel agencies.  We have included the prices for independent taxis and guides here; for more information about the travel agency prices you will need to contact the agencies whose numbers are listed below.  All excursions can be arranged to start from La Fora.

Pico do Fogo Hike

It’s a strange moonscape unlike anything else.  The large volcano (Pico do Fogo) is the dominant feature in the Caldeira, and you can hike both the large and the small volcanos in a single day.  Trips to the volcanos also include the semi-buried town of Cha das Caldeiras (partially buried in previous volcanic eruptions), as well as the vineyards in the Caldeira that produce Fogo’s unique wines.

Independent Taxi & Guide Prices

• Taxi Price: 8000 CVE (round-trip)
• Big Volcano Guide: 6000 CVE
  • It is REQUIRED to have a guide for this hike.
  • Adding the small volcano is an extra 1000 CVE
• Pay the driver and guide directly in cash.
• Lunch is available after the hike by request.
• Hike Time: 5 – 7 hours

Monte Velha – Mosteiros Hike

This hike takes you from Monte Velha in the Caldeira through the Monte Velha forest, the coffee fields of Pai Antonio and ends in the city of Mosteiros in the north of Fogo.

Independent Taxi & Guide Prices

• Taxi Price: 12000 CVE (drop off in Monte Velha and pick up in Mosteiros)
• Guide: 5000 CVE
  • It is NOT required to have a guide for this hike.
• Pay the driver and guide directly in cash.
• Lunch is available after the hike by request.
• Hike Time: 3 – 4 hours

Around the Island Car Tour

Fogo has an incredible amount of natural diversity, and an around the island tour is a great way to see all of the different climate zones and flora of the island.  It’s also a great opportunity to visit the natural pools at Salinas, the Fogo coffee plantations and other cultural sites.  Make sure to bring a bathing suit!

Independent Taxi & Guide Prices

• Taxi Price – Portuguese Speaking Driver: 8000 CVE (round-trip)
• Taxi Price – English or French Speaking Driver: 9000 CVE (round-trip)
• Pay the driver and guide directly in cash.
• Lunch in Mosteiros can be arranged in advance with the taxi driver.
• This is a day trip that will last 4 – 8 hours, depending on the guest.

Chã das Caldeiras Guided Tour, Including Optional Hike to Little Volcano

Don’t feel like hiking Pico do Fogo but still want to see Fogo’s main attraction?  You can tour the buried town of Cha das Caldeiras, see the Pico do Fogo and the Caldeira, and even hike the small volcano in a guided day trip.

Independent Taxi & Guide Prices

• Taxi Price – Portuguese Speaking Driver: 8000 CVE (round-trip)
• Taxi Price – English or French Speaking Driver: 9000 CVE (round-trip)
• Guide: 4.000 CVE
• Pay the driver and guide directly in cash.
• Lunch is available after the hike by request.
• This is a day trip that will last 4 – 8 hours, depending on the guest.

Independent Taxi & Guide

If you would like to hire an Independent Taxi & Guide, contact one of the following drivers who arrange the trips:

• Edmar:
  • Number: +238 984 0865
  • Languages: English, French, Portuguese, Kriolu
• Maiuca
  • Number: +238 993 8058
  • Languages: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Kriolu

Travel Agencies

If you would like to work through a travel agency, these are two operating on Fogo:

• Qualitur
  • Number: +238 997 1142 (mobile)
  • Number: +238 281 1089 (office)
  • Website: www.qualitur.cv
• Zebra Travel
  • Number: +238 281 3373 (office)
  • Website: www.zebratravel.net

Sometimes the best hikes are when you just wander, and La Fora is located in an area where you can explore rural, cobblestone roads as well as dirt goat paths and just see where your feet take you.

If you would like to see a couple of the hiking loops right out of our front door, here are a couple of hikes that our guests recommend.

La Fora – Cisterno – Lagarica – La Fora

La Fora – Inhuco – Cisterno – La Fora

Solar Energy & Energy Conservation

Our electricity at La Fora is generated by solar panels near the parking lot, and all of our hot water is generated by solar water heaters.  We have a battery bank that allows us to store and use the electricity generated by the solar panels during the night.

Solar Water Heaters

All warm water is generated by solar water heaters.  It might take a couple of minutes for you to receive warm water in your room, and on cloudy days there will be less warm water generated than on sunnier days.  You can feel good, however, that no fossil fuels were used in making your warm water!

Water Conservation

All of your shower and sink water is recycled into the gardens to water La Fora’s more water-intensive plants.  All personal body care products (soap, shampoo, body wash, conditioner, etc) are OK to use.  We do not change towels or sheets unless you request it in order to minimize our water use.  One load of 6.5 kilograms of laundry uses an average of 60 Liters of fresh water, depending on the cycle and the dirtiness of the laundry.  The less laundry we do, the more water we conserve!

Zero Pesticides

We are proud to be totally pesticide and poison-free.  As such, we do not use any chemical pesticides on site.  This means that we have a tremendous diversity of birds, bees and other insects, including two helpful species of mosquito-killing spiders.  We use these spiders as a natural pest control, and if you see one in the garden or in your bungalow don’t worry: they look scary, but they are completely harmless to humans.

Native & Naturalized Plants

In order to conserve water and promote the natural beauty of Fogo, all of the plants in the garden are native or naturalized plants from Cape Verde.  This means that many of them are drought tolerant, and do not require watering other than during the rainy season.

Passive Cooling

The bungalows are passively cooled through vents near the ceiling, and the white exterior reflects sunlight.  If you want a nice cross-breeze, just open your side window.

Local Products

We strive to use only fresh, local ingredients in our food and drink.  The mint in your mojito and the banana in your sorbet are from the La Fora gardens; the fish is from local fishermen who sail between Fogo and Brava, and the pork and goat cheese are from our neighbors.  In terms of produce, if the market has it, then we serve it.  If the market doesn’t, we don’t.  Even our house hot sauce is made from dried Fogo chiles, and we are proud to serve Fogo’s signature wines and grappas at the bar.  We believe that we can serve delicious food and drink and lower our ecological footprint at the same time.

Bar & Restaurant Waste

All bar and restaurant waste is either composted in the La Fora gardens or given to our neighbors to feed the pigs that we then serve as pork in the restaurant.

Staff & Community Development

We are a community-oriented ecolodge.  One of our founding missions is to bring economic opportunity to areas otherwise lacking jobs and other opportunities.  As such, we only employ people from our small, rural village.  Our staff is dedicated, hard-working, and committed to helping you make the most of your time on Fogo.

All staff at La Fora are fluent in Portuguese and Kriolu, the official languages of Cape Verde, and they are learning English.  We ask for guests’ patience as our staff learns a third language.  If needs be, an English speaking manager is either on-site or available by text during business hours.

Support Fogo Schools

As part of our goal of community development, we are proud to be the founders of the Support Fogo Schools program.  This is an initiative to help underprivileged students afford school uniforms and other necessary supplies.  Schools in Cape Verde (up to Grade 10) are free, but the students still must purchase uniforms, books and other materials.  Support Fogo Schools helps meet this need.  Please consider adding 5 Euros to your hotel bill in order to help underprivileged students.  100% of your donation goes directly to the students in need!

We live in a very quiet part of Fogo, but rarely, on national holidays or occasionally after a big soccer match, there are “tokatinas” (village parties) in our area.  Tokatinas usually involve live music, dancing, food and drink, and they often go until late in the evening.  Guests are always welcome to join in the festivities, so if you hear music in the area, you should always feel free to go and have a listen!

Don’t know Kriolu?  Here are some phrases to help you get around…

• Please → Por Favor
• Thank you → Obrigada/Obrigado
• You’re welcome → De nada
• Good day/Good morning → Bom dia
• Good afternoon → Boa tarde
• Good evening/Good night → Boa noite
• Do you speak English? → Bu papia ingles?
• I want to go to … → N cre bai …
• Where is … → Undi sta …
• Where is the bathroom? → Undi sta casa di banho?
• I want to eat … → N cre cume …
• I do not want to eat … → N ka cre cume …
• I want to drink … → N cre bibe …
• I do not want to drink … → N ka cre bibe …
• How much? → Contu custa?
• What is … → Cuze e …?
• What is that? → Cuze e kela?
• I am a vegetarian. → Ami e vegetariano.
• I am a vegan. → Ami e vegano.
• I like … → N gosta …
• I do not like … → N ka gosta …