The islands of São Tomé and Principe are situated in the Gulf of Guinea, about 300km from the west coast of Africa, there are still several islets, including “Rolas” which is crossed by the equator.

The archipelago is part of the Cameroon Rift volcanic line.

The climate is tropical and humid, with average yearly temperatures of about 
27ºC ( 80,6ºF).

There are two weather seasons, the drought season which occurs between June and August  and  the rainy season which occurs in the other months.

The islands were discovered in 1470 by the Portuguese navigators João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar. They were uninhabited until then. At present it has a population of approximately 151.912.

The islands were a colony of Portugal from the fifteenth century until their independence in 1975.Today and today the official name is The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe.

The islands are populated by a large number of bird species and rare plants, as well as several gigantic species like begonia. It is an important nesting site for sea turtles.

The official language is Portuguese, although there is also the dialect of São Tomé.