Salinas of Pedra de Lume is a former salt mine inside a volcanic crater where you float effortlessly in hypersaline water. Entry costs around €6, with paid showers and basic facilities. A curious, striking experience… usually enough with a single visit.
When you walk through a tunnel and the landscape suddenly changes
You arrive by car, park without much drama, and then enter a tunnel carved into the rock. On the other side, the scene opens up as if someone changed channels: a volcanic crater, high walls, strange colours and, right at the bottom, a still lake that doesn’t look especially impressive… until you get in.
A salt mine recycled into an experience
The Salinas of Pedra de Lume are not “just another salt flat”. This is a former salt mine inside an extinct volcano, now turned into a tourist attraction. The hook is simple and unique: floating effortlessly in a hypersaline lake, a Cape Verde take on the Dead Sea.
It works well if you’ve never done anything like this before, or if the geological setting interests you. If you’re expecting more than a short float and leaving with salt-crusted skin, the visit may feel limited.
What everyone comes here to do
The experience revolves around three things, always the same. First, walking down to the lake — about ten minutes from the ticket office. Second, floating. And third, trying not to get salt water in your eyes, because it shows no mercy.
The water is so dense it’s hard to sink even if you try. Many people cover themselves in salty mud before getting in; it’s optional, but it adds that improvised spa feeling that makes it seem like more than just an expensive dip.
There are changing rooms, toilets and fresh-water showers… almost all of it at an extra cost. Entry is around €6, and showers usually cost €1 for about 30 seconds. Literally.
Tourist-heavy, occasionally chaotic
This is one of the island’s most visited spots, and it shows. The atmosphere is clearly touristy, with groups coming and going, people taking floating photos and a constant background murmur of “that stings”.
Organisation doesn’t always keep up: small changing rooms, lockers without locks — or no lockers at all — and a feeling that everything works… but only just. Some days the restaurant and shop are open; other days, it’s best not to rely on them.
The experience is memorable. The management, less so.
Where the magic fades
The price is the main point of friction. Paying €6 to enter and then extra to shower frustrates many visitors, especially when the facilities feel basic or poorly maintained.
There are also recurring stories about people trying to charge for “information” in the car park, or showers that last less than promised. It doesn’t happen every time, but often enough to be worth mentioning.
And then there’s the “once is enough” factor: some leave delighted, others feel that after the first float, there’s little reason to come back.
How not to leave annoyed
— Go in knowing that everything is paid separately: entry, shower and extras.
— Don’t get water in your eyes and don’t shave the same day. Salt remembers.
— Take only essentials to the lake; although you can bring your things down, security is limited.
— If you can go on your own, do it. Organised tours multiply the price, not the experience.
— The view from the top of the crater is worth a few minutes before or after swimming.
A powerful experience… once
Floating in the Salinas of Pedra de Lume is something you remember. Not because of comfort or service, but because of how unusual it is: a salt lake at the bottom of a volcano, heavy, quiet and strange.
Is it worth six euros? For most people, yes. Does it make you want to return? Usually not. And still, almost everyone leaves saying the same thing: “Well… at least I’ve done it.”
Pedra de Lume isn’t essential. But floating there is hard to forget.
