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Sao Tome and Principe Sao Tome and Principe Waterfall

Cascata de São Nicolau

One of the waterfalls of Sao Tome and Principe.

When to go

Cascade de São Nicolau (São Tomé-et-Principe) (2)
Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 4.0

In numbers.

Mar–May
Dec

Best months

930m

Elevation

The water at Cascata de São Nicolau, month by month

It roars from March to May and from November to December.

The fullest months: from March to May and from November to December. The thinnest: from July to September.

  1. 74%Jan
  2. 67%Feb
  3. 85%Mar
  4. 100%Apr
  5. 83%May
  6. 40%Jun
  7. 14%Jul
  8. 5%Aug
  9. 9%Sep
  10. 40%Oct
  11. 76%Nov
  12. 79%Dec
high water best months to go

Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from March to May and December.

Estimate from rain, snowmelt and evaporation month by month (NASA POWER, 1991–2020) around the falls. Dams upstream can change the real flow.

Waterfall of São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe

Cascata de São Nicolau is a waterfall in Sao Tome and Principe.

Getting there.

Plan your visit

Stay, explore and get there

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Seen from the sky.

8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.

Cascata de São Nicolau seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 2 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

The Rio Manuel Jorge through the falls
800 m1,000 mCascata de São Nicolau-0.5 km0+0.5 km+1 km+1.5 km← upstreamdownstream →

The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.

The valley below the falls
−690 m+690 m

Around the falls the river drops 334 m in 2.8 km. Here the river runs about 46 m below the lower rim of its valley.

What is around.

  • —viewpoints
  • —waymarked walking routes
  • —car parks
  • —swimming spots
  • —picnic sites
  • —toilets
  • 1information boards and visitor centres
  • —bus stops within 1 km
  • 1other named waterfalls within 4 kmCascata de Bombaim
  • —caves
  • —campsites
  • 4hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 kmBelém, Hotel Bombaim, Brice and 1 more
  • 1restaurants and cafés within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Piedade4.5 km in a straight line
  • Folha Fede6.5 km in a straight line
  • Lemos8.3 km in a straight line
  • Rosema9.5 km in a straight line
  • Changra9.9 km in a straight line
  • Almeirim11 km in a straight line
  • Agua Porca11 km in a straight line
  • Neves12 km in a straight line

Weather

The weather, month by month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon °C222222222120192020212121
Night °C212122212119181819202020
Rain & snow (mm)13011916717612744222041114158134
Wet days2724292824128612252928
Sun h/day4.84.84.84.85.35.55.05.05.14.84.44.7

Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (930 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.

Photos

Through visitors' eyes.

Cascade de São Nicolau (São Tomé-et-Principe) (1)
Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cascata de São Nicolau - panoramio
Luís Rochinha · CC BY 3.0

Recent years

Wet years and dry years

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202067%81%98%86%71%133%152%149%115%92%104%74%
202178%91%112%84%111%233%89%209%145%101%90%128%
202270%47%90%93%106%133%101%75%112%172%116%97%
2023129%68%102%103%107%69%67%58%37%114%125%99%
202453%91%97%85%115%39%68%61%109%77%101%95%
202585%65%91%86%102%148%113%49%113%43%80%100%

130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual

About these numbers

Names, height, width, riverWikidata (Q99511847) · CC0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Relief, river profile, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Paths, viewpoints, parking© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves or dark skies?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

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cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Coming soonVisit
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit