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Tarrafal, Cabo Verde

Tarrafal in northern Santiago keeps Cape Verde Time, UTC−1. It does not switch to daylight saving, and its clock agrees with Praia and all other locations in Cabo Verde.

Tarrafal, Cabo Verde

Friday, 4 September 2026

UTC−1 · Atlantic/Cape_Verde

Time and sun data for Tarrafal — the largest city of Tarrafal

The sun in Tarrafal

Sunrise 06:24 Solar noon 12:35 Sunset 18:47 Daylight 12 h 23 min Night 11 h 37 min Civil twilight 06:02 – 19:09

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Current time in Tarrafal, Cabo Verde

The local time is consistently one hour behind UTC. Converting from UTC requires a one-hour subtraction; converting back requires adding that hour. Around midnight, remember that the local and UTC calendar dates may differ.

Tarrafal itself makes no seasonal alteration. If a recurring overseas meeting changes its apparent local hour, the cause is likely the time policy at the other end rather than a change in Cabo Verde. Local zone: Cape Verde Time

Fixed offset: UTC−1 Seasonal adjustment: none Time difference from Praia: zero Tarrafal leaves clock-changing to travellers, who usually manage enough of it on their phones anyway.

Tarrafal town and surrounding places

Tarrafal is a municipality at the northern end of Santiago, and the town of Tarrafal is its seat and main urban centre. The shared name can describe either the municipality or the town, so context is useful when reading maps and place lists.

In a ranking of the municipality’s largest populated places, Tarrafal town is the leading reference. Smaller communities may also be listed, but their classification varies among geographic datasets. A village, locality, and administrative subdivision can all appear under different labels without representing competing municipal centres.

This Tarrafal should also be distinguished from Tarrafal de São Nicolau, which is on another island. Both use the same Cape Verde clock, yet selecting the correct place remains important for maps, weather, and sunrise.

Sunrise at northern Santiago

A sunrise result must combine Tarrafal’s location with a specific date. Solar times vary through the year even though civil clocks stay fixed. Values calculated for Praia should not automatically be substituted when a Tarrafal-specific result is available.

Coastlines may offer broad horizon views, but hills and local orientation can still affect when direct sunlight is visible. The astronomical sunrise is a calculated event; the observed appearance of the Sun depends on the horizon, elevation, atmospheric conditions, and cloud.

Choose Tarrafal on Santiago, not the namesake municipality on São Nicolau. Specify the correct day. Confirm that the output uses UTC−1. Check local terrain if exact visibility matters.

Questions and answers
Is Tarrafal in the same zone as the rest of Santiago?
Yes. The whole island uses Cape Verde Time at UTC−1.
Are Tarrafal and Tarrafal de São Nicolau the same place?
No. They are separate municipalities on different islands.
Does a fixed clock mean sunrise occurs at one fixed hour?
No. Sunrise varies with the date and position even when the time-zone offset is unchanged.

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