Quick answer
How was this voyage completed?
Da Gama's four vessels left Lisbon in July 1497, swept southwest into the South Atlantic and returned east to round the Cape. After calls at Mozambique, Mombasa and Malindi, local piloting knowledge helped them cross the Indian Ocean to Calicut in May 1498. The return departed in an unfavourable season and became far slower and deadlier.
- Years
- 1497—1499
- Command
- Vasco da Gama
- Ships
- São Gabriel, São Rafael, Berrio and a supply ship
- Objective
- Establish a direct Portuguese ocean route into the Indian spice trade
- Result
- The first recorded European fleet voyage around Africa to India, with limited trade and severe loss of life
Itinerary
Principal route stops
Stops come from verifiable voyage records. Open-ocean segments show sequence; daily coordinates remain unknown.
- 017–8 July 1497
Restelo (present-day Belém)
The company keeps vigil in the old hermitage before four vessels leave the Tagus
- 02August—November 1497
South Atlantic
A broad offshore sweep uses the wind system toward southern Africa
- 03November 1497
Cape of Good Hope and Mossel Bay
The fleet rounds Africa
- 04March—April 1498
Mozambique and Mombasa
The ships enter Swahili commercial and political networks
- 05April 1498
Malindi
The fleet obtains piloting help for the monsoon crossing
- 06May 1498
Calicut
Arrival on India's southwest coast
The fleet left Restelo, then left Africa behind before returning to it
On 7 July 1497, da Gama and his company prayed and kept vigil at the small hermitage of Santa Maria de Belém at Restelo, then sailed from the Tagus the next day. The official monastery history preserves this tradition; the anonymous voyage journal opens by stating that the fleet left Restelo on Saturday, 8 July, directly confirming place and date. Prayer, liturgy and royal expedition met here, but the journal does not itemize family farewells, tide tables or every instrument carried into the chapel.
The monumental Jerónimos Monastery visible today cannot be placed unchanged in the 1497 scene. Manuel I had already sought permission for a new religious foundation before the fleet sailed, but the surviving monastery complex was built after the voyage and replaced or absorbed the old hermitage site. The historical departure therefore belongs to a modest Ermida do Restelo and a riverside anchorage, not the completed Manueline stone church.
Instead of clinging to West Africa, the fleet stood southwest into open ocean and used prevailing winds to bend back toward the cape. A longer line on the chart made a more workable passage under sail.
Beyond the Cape, the route's logic changed. Seasonal monsoon winds, not the South Atlantic circuit, governed the East African and Indian stages.
East African ports were working parts of the route
Mozambique, Mombasa and Malindi were sophisticated Swahili cities connected to wider Muslim commerce. The Portuguese had to negotiate local rulers, identities and rivalries rather than simply take on water.
Malindi supplied help for the open-water crossing. The pilot's name remains uncertain, but the dependence on Indian Ocean expertise does not.
The return exposed the difference between arrival and a mature route
The outward monsoon crossing was comparatively rapid. Leaving India at a poor time stretched the homeward passage, while scurvy and other disease consumed the crews.
With too few sailors, the expedition burned São Rafael. A successful arrival could prove a route; only repeated seasonal knowledge, provisioning and survival could make it reliable.
Route reading
What is known—and what remains uncertain?
Reliable waypoints, disputed details and the voyage’s effects on trade, empire and local societies form separate parts of the record.
The route crossed two different wind systems
A South Atlantic circuit carried the fleet around Africa; monsoon timing and local expertise governed the India passage.
The pilot's identity is not secure
Malindi's assistance is established, but the popular attribution to a famous Arab navigator is not consistently supported.
Arrival concealed the losses of return
Disease, poor timing and crew shortage forced the abandonment of São Rafael and left far fewer people to reach Portugal.
Questions
Common questions
Did da Gama pray at the Jerónimos Monastery before departure?
The company prayed and kept vigil in the earlier Ermida do Restelo, the small hermitage of Santa Maria de Belém on the site. The monumental monastery seen today was built after the first voyage.
How long did the voyage take?
From July 1497 until the last returning ship reached Portugal in 1499—more than two years.
Why sail west into the Atlantic first?
The broad volta do mar used South Atlantic winds and avoided difficult conditions along the Gulf of Guinea.
Where did the fleet reach India?
Near Calicut on the southwest coast in May 1498.
Why was the return so deadly?
An unfavourable monsoon lengthened the crossing, allowing scurvy and other illness to devastate an exhausted crew.
Sources
Sources and further verification
The museums, archives, research institutions and international organizations below support this account.
- Vasco da GamaThe Mariners’ Museum and Park
- Vasco da GamaPanteão Nacional de Portugal
- Bartolomeu DiasThe Mariners’ Museum and Park
- The Portuguese in the Indian OceanCambridge University Press
- Portuguese Oceanic Expansion, 1400–1800Cambridge University Press
Age of Seas editorial research records verifiable route sequence while leaving unknown daily coordinates unresolved.Editorial standards and corrections ↗