Pedra de Lume Salt Lake

Pedra de Lume is the salt works inside an old volcanic crater on the north-east coast of Sal, a protected landscape since 2012 and on Cape Verde’s tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage. You walk through a tunnel in the crater wall to the salt pans and float in the brine, which holds you up like a lilo. Entry is €5 to €6 a person at the gate (checked October 2026). Shark Bay is a few kilometres down the coast, and Sal Experiences’ three-hour half day does both, from £25 in current promotion (usually £26) a person (checked October 2026).

What it is

Sal means salt, and this is why. The crater floor lies below sea level; seawater seeps into it, and the sun evaporates it in shallow pans and leaves the salt behind. Merchants worked it from about 1796, when Manuel António Martins settled the place with families from Boa Vista and enslaved people from the West African coast. In the first quarter of the 19th century they cut a tunnel through the crater wall, laid a railway and built a port to ship the salt; in the early 20th century a diesel-powered cable car carried it over the rim to the sea, described in Cape Verde’s UNESCO submission as the first in West Africa. Dolomite was mined in the crater too, and sold as fertiliser.

The government classified Pedra de Lume and its salt pans as a protected area in 2012, and the “Salinas de Pedra de Lume e Cagarral” protected landscape was marked out in 2014. In 2016 Cape Verde’s Ministry of Culture put the salt works on the tentative list for World Heritage.

Floating

You change, walk out over the salt crust to a pan, lie back and float. The brine is so dense that you bob on the surface with no effort, and reading a book is the classic photo. Of the 214 written reviews in the newest 350 of the Shark Bay tour (17 August to 31 October 2026), 31 mention the salt lake or floating.

A few things make it better:

• Keep the water out of your eyes and any cuts or fresh shaves: it stings.
• Wear water shoes or sandals on the salt crust.
• Bring a towel and a bottle of fresh water to rinse your face. A shower to rinse off the salt costs €1 (checked October 2026).
• Do not put your head under.

What it costs

The gate charge is €5 to €6 a person, paid at the entrance (checked October 2026); tours that include it pay it for you. Cape Verde’s currency, the escudo, is pegged to the euro at 110.265 escudos to €1; carry some euros or escudos.

Listing prices: GetYourGuide checked October 2026. Entry terms from each listing, checked October 2026.

Check dates for the salt lake and Shark Bay

Pedra de Lume and Shark Bay together

The salt lake and Shark Bay are neighbours on the east coast, a short drive apart, and most tours pair them. Sal Experiences’ three-hour half day goes to Shark Bay first, then walks through the old salt village, then gives you about 50 minutes at the lake. The four-hour morning adds the Blue Eye at Buracona and includes the salt lake’s entry. Getting there alone, Sal’s council taxi fares published on 22 October 2026 put the airport to Pedra de Lume at 800 escudos by day.

Pick your trip

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings, GetYourGuide checked October 2026. Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote. The €6 entry checked October 2026.

Who should pick something else

• You only want the sharks: the lemon sharks guide and the two-hour shark trip.
• You want the Blue Eye too: see Buracona and the Blue Eye.
• You want every sight in one day: see Sal island tours compared.