An Odyssey to the Southern Tip of São Tomé, where the road ends and the adventure begins.
The road to Porto Alegre is long, winding through lush mountains, lazy rivers, and sleepy villages. But the reward, upon reaching the southernmost tip of São Tomé Island, is undeniable. It is here, just seven miles north of the Equator, that you’ll find the legendary Roça Porto Alegre — a living fragment of tropical history where lush nature and colonial memory intertwine.
Porto Alegre — “Happy Port,” as the Portuguese name promises — lies just steps from the island’s southernmost point, bordered by wild beaches and the constant Atlantic breeze. Close to Ponta Homem da Capa, the plantation invites you to explore one of São Tomé’s most authentic landscapes.
Founded in 1890 by Jacinto Carneiro de Sousa e Almeida, the First Viscount of Malanza, Porto Alegre was born from an ambitious dream: to transform nearly inhospitable lands into world-class cocoa plantations. Inspired by the passion for agriculture he inherited from his father, Jacinto built an exemplary operation here, complete with steam-powered sawmills, brick factories, bridges over rivers, acclimatization fields, and even a Decauville railway line — a true feat of engineering for the time.
By 1905, Roça Porto Alegre had evolved into a sprawling estate, carved into sixteen thriving dependencies and managed by the Société Anonyme Portugaise de Responsibilité Limitée — a bold Belgian-Portuguese enterprise that counted the influential Henri Burnay among its key figures.
At the height of its production, the estate spanned thousands of hectares: cocoa fields, coconut groves, and oil palm plantations dominated the landscape, producing over 1.6 million pounds of cocoa annually, equivalent to approximately $275,6 million USD today. The plantation even had its own hospital, a steam-powered machine shop, and several miles of railway lines.
But like so many colonial stories, this one also carries its shadows. In 1905, among a population of nearly 1,100 indentured workers, 257 were children under the age of six — a silent testament to the social realities that fueled these grand plantations.
Today, Porto Alegre is a place where splendor and decay walk hand in hand. The central square still stands, along with the old housing blocks — sanzalas for African workers and residences for European settlers — now overtaken by wilderness and time. Walking through these ruins feels like traveling through centuries of ambition, resistance, and renewal.
The Roça Porto Alegre is not just a historical attraction: it’s an open window into São Tomé’s multicultural soul. Here, travelers can feel the weight of forgotten stories and the pulse of a world that, though distant, still beats under the equatorial sun.
If you're seeking a travel experience that goes beyond the obvious, prepare yourself: Porto Alegre is a journey through time that will stay etched in your memory.
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Did you know that
By 1905, life at Porto Alegre was teeming with youth — 257 children under the age of six lived among a serviçal community of 1,093. Yet beneath the vibrant hum of childhood lay a somber truth: these young ones, known as tongas, were not born free. From their first breath, they were bound by contract to the estate’s owner, woven into the same unforgiving fabric of labor that defined their parents’ lives.
Jacinto passed away in 1905, in Lisbon — but not before a shadow was cast over his legacy. In his final days, weakened by illness, he was drawn into a controversial deal to create the Sociedade Roça Porto Alegre with the powerful firm of Henry Burnay. The result: Burnay’s consortium gained control of all Jacinto’s prized estates. His children would later accuse Burnay of coercing their ailing father into signing the agreement, leaving behind not just land and legacy, but lingering questions of betrayal.
Explore
Go claim your reward on the wild beaches of Porto Alegre’s southern coast. Sink your feet into the golden sands of Praia Inhame, dive into the crystal-clear waters of Praia Piscina, watch turtles nest on the quiet shores of Praia Jalé, and find hidden serenity at Praia Cabana. The sea sparkles, the horizons stretch endlessly, and the raw beauty of these untouched landscapes will leave an imprint on your soul — a memory of a place where the world still feels wonderfully wild.
Venture to the tiny islet of Rolas and experience the surreal thrill of standing at the very heart of the planet. Here, at the Equator Marker, you can teeter between two worlds — one foot in the Northern Hemisphere, the other in the Southern. São Tomé is one of the rare places graced by the equator’s invisible embrace, where an imaginary line of latitude, exactly zero degrees, slices the Earth in two. Few destinations offer such a tangible encounter with geography’s greatest divider — and none quite like this.
Nearest hotels
- Praia Inhame Ecolodge, Porto Alegre
- Gombela Ecolodge and Farming, Porto Alegre
- Domus Praia Jalé, Água Côco
- N’Guembú Nature Resort: Porto Alegre
- Roça São João dos Angolares, Angolares
- Hotel Campismo Praia Grande, Monte Carmo
- 7 ventos, Alto Douro
