Calling São Tomé and Príncipe a paradise is not an exaggeration or a cliché. In a country defined by tranquility, everything is beautiful.

Everywhere you go, you’ll hear the expression leve leve, something like “take it easy.” Without a doubt, that leve leve is good advice. São Tomé and Príncipe is a place to savor, to enjoy without watching the clock or following a schedule.

Stopping anywhere and simply looking offers a great chance to experience beauty. You might stand on a beach so stunning it looks like a postcard. You might find yourself in an abandoned cocoa plantation that has turned into lush jungle. You could visit a roça—the colonial Portuguese plantations—and appreciate their faded charm. You might wander through a humble village where hundreds of children are laughing. Or watch as thousands of colorful fabrics are washed and dried by a river. You could even sit down for a grilled crab or a roasted fish in the simplest of local restaurants—and yet feel utterly delighted.

Nature has been generous to these islands in the Gulf of Guinea, and so has the climate. Its rainfall ensures that greenery dominates overwhelmingly, leaving, of course, room for the pure white sands of the most deserted and pristine beaches you can imagine.

São Tomé and Príncipe is one of the least visited countries in the world. And that works in your favor. Authenticity and spontaneity still thrive here—qualities that have disappeared in so many other places.