In the interior of Boa Vista lies the Deserto de Viana, a genuine stretch of desert formed from fine sand blown across the ocean from the Sahara — a surreal, cinematic landscape of golden dunes among black volcanic rock.
What to expect
The desert is around a kilometre wide and several long, its pale dunes shifting with the wind against a backdrop of dark mountains. It feels a world away from the beach, and it’s one of the most photographed spots on the island.
How to visit
Because it sits inland on rough terrain, the Viana desert is best reached by 4x4 or quad, usually as part of a guided island tour that also takes in Sal Rei, Santa Monica beach and the Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck. Go with a guide — it’s easy to get stuck in soft sand.
Sahara sand, mid-Atlantic
The Viana dunes are made of sand that never belonged to Boa Vista: fine quartz grains carried hundreds of kilometres on the harmattan wind from the Sahara, dropped where the island's hills slow the airflow. The result is a five-kilometre pocket of gleaming white dunes ringed by dark volcanic rock — a landscape collision you can walk across in an hour and photograph for a lifetime.
Walking, boarding and the best light
Kick off your shoes: the sand is soft, clean and (early or late in the day) cool underfoot. Sandboarding is offered on several tours and is exactly as fun and as inelegant as it sounds. For photography, come in the first or last two hours of light, when the ridgelines throw crisp shadows — midday flattens everything and doubles the glare.
Practical information
- About 15 minutes from Sal Rei by 4x4 or quad; part of every island tour.
- No shade, no facilities — carry more water than you think you need.
- Wind can sandblast cameras and phones; bring a cover or buff.
- Stick to established tracks at the edges; vehicles must never cross the dunefield.
- Continue to the shipwreck or Rabil pottery village.