Once central to every community, the mulemba tree is a cherished national monument in Angola. Taking root at a time when kings and queens ruled ancient kingdoms dominating this region of Africa, it was used as a place for shelter, discussion and contemplation. One special tree outside the capital city, Luanda, is venerated for its links with a powerful past – yet few people even know the Mulemba Waxa N’gola even exists.

Set between Namibia and the two Congos, along the west coast of Africa, Angola has been shrouded in secrecy for many years. Once at the centre of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the nation was later dogged by decades of fighting and civil war. Rejuvenated by a lucrative oil industry in recent years, the destination is finally opening up to tourism. New airports, improved infrastructure and foreign hotel investment are planned for the years ahead.

For now, Angola remains a tantalising discovery – a place of pristine landscapes, recovering wildlife habitats and Indigenous tribal communities, deeply connected to their ancestors and traditional culture.

Urban energy

Nowhere tells the complex story of Angola’s past better than its dynamic capital, Luanda. A melange of African, Portuguese and Indigenous influences, the city’s unique urban landscape blends history and progress. Military forts and slave houses reference a dark era of European occupation, while soaring metallic skyscrapers nod to rapid modern development. Cool beach bars serve glitzy cocktails and sophisticated seafood dishes along the coastal strip of Ilha de Luanda, pumping out traditional semba and sensual kizomba music until the early hours. Street art lights up the neighbourhoods and the country’s prosperous new era has given rise to entrepreneurial spirits in the fields of gastronomy and art.

Daily life unfolds in the labyrinthine neighbourhoods, known locally as musseques. Singing blasts from churches, drum-beats rumble through alleyways, and goods are traded on every corner. Just outside the city, boat rides along the Kwanza River are a reminder that nature is never far away.

Natural wonders

A mosaic of tropical rainforests, golden deserts, rocky plateaux and dense grasslands, Angola is a microcosm of the many diverse ecosystems that make up Africa. There are areas where roads are yet to penetrate, while many networks that do exist barely register on a map. Species once believed to be extinct, such as the fabled giant sable – an endemic antelope with impressive arched horns –still roam the woodlands, and new discoveries continue to be made. Although in the early stages of development, private conservation areas like Cuatir in the Cuando Cubango province hold great promise for the future.

Even the most accessible landmarks are largely unknown. Powerful enough to rival the thundering cataracts of Victoria Falls, with a drop of 330ft, Kalandula Falls only receives a fraction of visitors in comparison. Hiking trails weave through the ancient monolithic rocks of Pungo Andongo, where freedom fighter Queen Nzinga took refuge from the Portuguese in the early 17th century. Further south, at the Tundavala Gap, pathways lead to viewpoints teetering on the edge of the world.

Desert adventures

Dunes tower like mountains along the coast of southern Angola, where sands are washed by the Atlantic Ocean. When tides are favourable, 4x4s can skirt the mighty Namib Desert, flanked by flocks of cormorants and pelicans. Camping is the best way to appreciate the raw beauty of Iona National Park, watching stars blaze above an ancient landscape, formed over 80 million years ago.

Managed by African Parks, the protected area is recovering after decades of civil war and poaching. Tracks in the sand reveal the presence of secretive brown hyenas, noble ostriches and South African oryx, while grasslands further inland provide a habitat for cheetahs, leopards and recently reintroduced Angolan giraffes.

A highlight of the park is the Baía dos Tigres, an island lying 20 miles off the country’s southern coast, reached by boat or 4×4 when tides permit. Once part of the mainland, little remains of this colonial-era fishing community, which was abandoned after a storm in the 1960s and slowly swallowed by the desert, testimony to the power of ever-shifting sands.

Tribes and traditions

Before borders were carved by European powers, Africa was a patchwork of culturally distinct kingdoms. Although now part of the same nation, 100 ethnic groups retain their own traditions and practices in Angola. Himba women bathe their bodies in ochre paint, Mwila girls wear beaded vikeka collars around their necks, and Mucubal men live and die for their cattle.

A cluster of these different groups live close together in Oncocua, in the southern Cunene province, where a camping area is open to visitors. Being immersed in the heart of these communities offers a window into worlds that could all too quickly be forgotten. There are no crowds or contrived performances; this is one of the last places in Africa where it’s possible to experience authentic tribal life in a sensitive and sustainable way. Days are simple but enriching: watch pastoralists herd cows, help children collect firewood, dance and sing long into the night.

While Portuguese is the country’s official language, dominant in urban centres like Luanda, English is becoming more common, and the Indigenous Bantu languages of Umbundu, Kimbundu and Kikongo are widely spoken in rural daily life.

Cultural heritage

Once part of the Kongo Kingdom, Angola was a sophisticated, thriving society long before Portuguese explorers arrived. Set on a plateau in the northern Zaire province, former capital M’banza-Kongo is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, where the ruins of a formal royal residence and cemetery remain.

But it was the Trans-Atlantic slave trade that would reshape Angola forever. More enslaved Africans than anywhere else along the coastline – around 37% – passed from West Central Africa through the ports of Luanda. The National Slavery Museum on the outskirts of the city commemorates an event many are still struggling to grasp.

Struggles for independence from Portuguese rule in 1975 and the ensuing 27-year civil war are topics covered in the Museum of the Armed Forces, set below the fortress of São Miguel overlooking the bay. Outside, stands a statue of Queen Nzinga, who ruled the Ndongo and Mtamba kingdoms and valiantly opposed Portuguese powers to secure her reign. Featured on coins, sugar packets and in murals, her image represents resilience and revival – two themes set to shape Angola in the years ahead.

Photos: Robert Haidinger, Kleber Group, Angola Tourism Board.