Angola – Grand Angola Tour

Itinerary

Cabinda tour: Sunday 11 February – Luanda

• Arrive at your own convenience in Luanda.
• Overnight stay in Luanda.

Cabinda tour: Monday 12 February – Luanda – Cabinda

• 7:00 AM Morning flight to the exclave of Cabina. Here things are starting to get rough in Angola. Cabinda is well-known as the area that tries to be independent from the rest of Angola. The area is rich in oil and is one of the wealthiest parts of the country.
• City tour of Cabinda;
• 1 May Park.
• Church of the Immaculate Conception.
• Central market, here you can find the famous Cabinda Tree.
• Monument to the Treaty of Simulambuco.
• We drive out of town and check out a couple of small villages in Cabinda.
• Return to the airport.
• 5:00 PM we catch our return flight to Luanda.
• Overnight stay in Luanda.

Tuesday 13 February – Luanda – CARNIVAL

• Start of the tour with group A and B. End of the tour for Cabinda Group.
• Arrival in Luanda, airport pick-up, after which we will immediately exchange money.
• Meet your other travel companions before the trip.
• Fortaleza de Sao Miguel (army museum), including the famous North Korean-style propaganda drawings at the entrance.
• Iron Palace, a famous and mysterious building about which many stories are told. Rumour has it that it was designed by Gustav Eiffel.
•  Drive through the governmental area.
• Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, an old colonial church built on 4 de Fevereiro Avenue.
• Highlight: Time to party! We may be in Africa, but Rio is not far away. Luanda is known all over Africa for the big carnival festivities and we will try to catch as many of them as possible.
• We visit a wall along the highway with a lot of special street-art. Often it contains all kinds of social themes.
• Overnight stay in Luanda.

Wednesday 14 February – Luanda – N’dalatando – Kalandula Falls

• We leave early in the morning for Luanda train station. We will have breakfast on the train.
• Highlight: We spend most of the day in the train (about 7 hours) to N’dalatando. On the way you will see a lot of rural life in Angola, where we will stop at different places.
• After arriving in N’dalatando we take a short walk through the town, after which we drive on by car to the Kalandula Falls.
• Campfire at the waterfall.
• Overnight stay in our lodge.

Thursday 15 February – Kalandula Falls – Malanje

• Highlight: We wake up with a view over the Kalandula Falls. One of the most famous places of Angola.
• Short walk to the foot of the waterfalls, where we have a completely different view.
• We drive to the rapids of the Kwanza river, next to a small village.
• See how the villagers use the river for cleaning and other daily life activities.
• Wander around the village and meet the locals.
• We go back to our lodge, where you can swim in different baths, take a walk, or relax at the lodge.
• If the owner is there, he will tell us more about life here during the civil war. There was a lot of fighting here during the war.
• Overnight stay in our lodge.

Friday 16 February – Kalandula Falls – Luanda

• We drive back to Luanda. On the way we stop at abandoned houses and buildings from the war of independence and civil war.
• We’ll visit the Pedras Negras do Pungo Andongo. These giant black stones were a place of resistance surrounded by mystery and magic against the Portuguese colonizers.
• We continue our long drive back to Luanda, straight through the heart of Angola.
• Overnight stay in Luanda.

Saturday 17 February – Luanda – Lubango

• Group A: end of the tour. Group B continues:
• The Monument (Mausoleum) of the former president Antonio Augustinho Neto.
• Drive to the airport.
• 12:20 flight from Luanda to Lubango, in the south of the country.
• Visit to the Tundavala Gap, an amazing viewpoint on the edge of the Serra da Leba cliff.
• See the famous Christo Rei statue. Yes, the same one as in Rio.
• Overnight stay in Lubango.

Sunday 18 February – Lubango – Chibia – Oncocua

• Morning departure towards Oncocua.
• Along the way we stop at Chibia.
• Visit the local market, here you can meet many regional tribes, including one of the most famous ones: Mumhila. Here we take the time to take pictures of all the different tribes. Of course we organise this in a respectful way with the local people.
• We continue our long ride to Oncocua. Upon arrival we meet the Soba (headman) who will introduce us to the area.
• Overnight stay in tents.

Monday 19 February – Oncocua – Lubango

• We spend the whole day in the Oncocua area to meet different ethnic groups.
• Groups we will likely encounter are the Muhimba, Muhacaona, Dimba and Vatua.
• Join the herder with escorting its cattle to the water place. The best way to experience local life here.
• See how daily life is here in this part of Angola and if you wish you can assist some of the people with their daily tasks.
• At the end of the day we return back to Lubango.
• Overnight stay in Lubango.

Tuesday 20 February – Lubango – Tombua – Namibe

• Drive in the direction of beautiful Namibe. A city situated on the Atlantic coast.
• Highlight: On the way we stop at the Serra da Leba Pass. One of the most famous places in the country. From here on, the landscape changes completely, as we head towards the Atlantic Ocean.
• We go into the Namibe Desert for spectacular landscapes. Most people visit the Namibian side, but the Angolan part is just as incredible.
• Drive to the city of Tombua. Here we’ll meet local fishermen and see how they work.
• We set off for the Curoca Oasis, where we can see beautiful natural formations – the red canyon and Arco.
• Return to Namibe.
• Overnight stay in Namibe.

Wednesday 21 February – Namibe – Luanda  

• Early start, as we head towards another tribe, the Nguendelengo, famous for their incredible hairdo. They also speak the seldom used dialect of Nhaneca.
• Drive towards Namibe airport.
• 21:00 flight to Luanda.
• Overnight stay in Luanda.

Thursday 22 February – Luanda

• Highlight: We go to Shipwreck Beach, a beach full of forgotten cargo ships from all over the world.
• Kifangondo Battle monument. Our guide will explain the importance of this place in the struggle for independence.
• Drive to the famous Moon Viewpoint for views of the beautiful scenery.
• Visit the Slavery Museum and the souvenir market.
• Visit to Kilamba, this used to be known as a Chinese built ghost town, but today’s a lively area of Luanda. One of our guides lives here and he’ll happily show us around.
• Overnight stay in Luanda.

Friday 23 February – Luanda

• Airport drop off.
• The tour can be extended with a tour to Sao Tomé & Principe (23 – 25 February).
• End of the tour.