The cuisine is based on tropical root crops, plantains, and bananas, with fish as the most common source of protein. The vegetables consist of gathered indigenous greens that are cooked in red palm oil.
The Contador River is located in the northwest of São Tomé and its river valley is possibly the deepest in the country. Several streams run down from the volcanic highlands into the Gulf of Guinea.There are no significant lakes on São Tomé and Príncipe.
The little-discovered islands of São Tomé e Príncipe provide unspoiled beauty and isolation from the world now rarely found anywhere else. The islands lie on an alignment of once-active volcanoes, with rugged landscapes, dense forests and palm-fringed beaches, 250km (155 miles) off the coast of West Africa.