Luanda – On the Atlantic coast

Luanda is the capital of the western African country of Angola. About five million people live here. Luanda is not only one of Africa's largest cities, but it is also the third largest city in the world where Portuguese is spoken. Only São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are larger and Lisbon, in Portugal, is actually smaller!

In the Baixa de Luanda quarter near the harbour there are still quite a few colonial structures, which attest to the earlier significance of this harbour city. Until the second half of the 19th century, this city was the centre of the slave trade in Brazil, the Caribbean and the USA. A museum about 25 kilometres from Luanda, on the coast, is dedicated to the history of slavery. In Luanda itself is the interesting National Anthropology Museum. A visit to the old Portuguese fortress São Miguel, which contains the Museum of the Armed Forces, is also worthwhile.

Kissama National Park, 70 kilometres south of Luanda, is Angola's largest national park. Many types of animals are protected here. In the park are bungalows with kitchen facilities for visitors to use. Visitors must bring their own food. The park is closed during the rainy season in March and April. Especially after the rainy season, the Kalandula waterfalls in the Malange region are an impressive spectacle.

Angola has many beautiful beaches. Just 5 kilometres from the centre of Luanda are the Ilha beaches. About 45 kilometres south of Luanda, Palmeirinhas is a spacious, nearly empty beach with terrific surroundings but strong surf.

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