Place

Praia, Cape Verde

The voyage’s first sustained landfall, where Darwin began field observations on volcanic geology and tropical environments.

Coordinates14.92, -23.51

Historical namesPorto Praya, St Jago

Related expeditions

27 December 1831–2 October 1836

Voyage of HMS Beagle

HMS Beagle sailed on a five-year Royal Navy surveying voyage under Robert FitzRoy. Charles Darwin travelled as a self-funded naturalist, spending long periods ashore collecting specimens and recording the geology, plants, animals, and societies he encountered.

Sources and further reading

Darwin’s Itinerary on the Voyage of the Beagle, The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. Day-by-day chronology, historical place names, coordinates, ports, shore excursions, and Beagle positions.

Open in the interactive atlas