Since the time of hunters and gatherers who inhabited this land for over 2000 years to current democratic republic, Angola has experienced many cultural and social changes. Like any African nation, the country saw its native inhabitants faced the European conquerors (Portugal and the Netherlands) until the historical development brought independence in 1975.
Luanda and Benguela are two of the Angolan cities where the nation’s colonial past is visible. The National Museum of Anthropology in the capital is one of the best places to learn the history of this country that also learned to cope with a violent civil war. Below are several things to see in Angola.
Fortaleza de Sao Miguel
The Fortaleza de Sao Miguel, Also known as Fuerte de San Miguel or St. Michael Castle is one of Angola’s most famous buildings. It was built by the Portuguese conquerors who wanted to protect the coast Luanda, The capital of the country.
The historical sources do not agree about the date of its construction. One version has it that the fortress was built in 1576 order of Paulo Dias de Novais. In the following decades, the Fortaleza de São Miguel became the administrative center of the colony and a major market for the slave trade to Brazil.
The walls and the cannons of the fort protected for years the most important assets in Angola. Currently, the building allows the operation of Central Museum of Armed Forces, which sets out several accounts of the wars in Angola and the Colonial period objects such as statues and handicrafts made from ceramics.
Quiçama National Park
The Quiçama National Park or Kissama National Park is located in northwestern Angola. This is the only national park in the country which is fully active after the long civil war.
The region started to be protected as a reserve in 1938 and was proclaimed a national park 1957. Its area of 12,000 square kilometers is home to several species of animals, such as elephants and antelope. Many specimens were killed in that conflict in 2001.
Notably Quiçama has a coastline of 120 km above Atlantic Ocean. Rivers Cuanza (North) and Longa (South) also form the boundaries of the park.
Kalandula Falls
85 km from the capital Malange appears one of the most beautiful natural spectacles Angola. The Kalandula Falls surprise visitors drop of 105 meters and a large flow of water after the rainy season.
Visitors (and locals) tend to enjoy the small beaches that are formed on the banks of Lucala river and let be refreshing swim in the hottest days. Despite its undeniable natural beauty, the area is not tourist exploitation and therefore is not known internationally.
Like Quiçama National Park and other tourist regions Kalandula Falls (known during the colonial era Duke of Bragança Falls) Suffered the ravages of civil war. The internal conditions threaten the country, unfortunately, against the arrival of foreign visitors.