Luanda & Kalandula - 3 Days

Leaving Luanda we follow the main road east in the direction of Malange through Catete and Zenza, we stop at our favourite small village for a coffee break. We then continue on to N ́dalatando the “garden city” and capital of Kwanza Norte province where we visit the Botanical Gardens, and an old agricultural college at Kilombo, and also take a buffet lunch in a nice hotel. We continue through Lucala, to Cacuso where we turn off north east towards our main objective today - the majestic Kalandula Falls on the Lucala River, (at 105m a rival to Victoria Falls in height). We anticipate arriving here at around 16h00 or so. After visiting the falls we will dine and stay in a small basic hotel in Kalandula for convenience (Note this hotel has been closed for some time under renovation, in this case we stay in one of the hotels in Malange and in such a case we will not have time to stop for a formal buffet meal but will have a sncak in the car en route). This trip format does have the benefit of visiting Malange city on day 2. Accommodation: Hotel in Kalandula Meals included – snack lunch, buffet dinner.

After breakfast we will visit a rather surprising church in Kalandula village, where if on a Sunday and we are lucky we will hear the congregation singing in the local dialect. Alternatively if we stay in Malange we may visit the Casa da Gaiato orphanage which has a very nice small church). We then set off for Pedras Negras, the trip will take about 11⁄2 hours. We turn south at Cacuso where we will soon reach the fascinating rock formation at Pungo Andongo known as “Pedras Negras”, here we will be able to climb one of the main rocks for a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside including Capanda Dam. We will also be able to see the famous “rock footprint” of the warrior queen Rainha Ginga. We then leave on a westerly route where (across the Kwanza valley) we start to witness the huge landscapes that Kwanza Sul is famous for, after about 90kms we turn south and go over the Kwanza River at the pretty bridge dating back to 1934 “Filomeno De Camara”. Here we will have our picnic lunch. We then travel through the picturesque “Magic Forest” track up into Cabuta Coffee Farm close to Calulo where we stay the night in their comfortable bungalows in the “Sanzala Complex

After our breakfast we will visit some of the special sites at the farm, not least of all it’s spectacular 300 degree views at “Miradouro”. We will also have the opportunity to enjoy a guided walking tour of the operational side of the Coffee farm with one of the farms managers who will explain how the coffee growing and processing works. We will then visit the pretty town of Calulo before starting our return to Luanda winding through the lush valleys and spectacular landscapes of Kwanza Sul, it will be a long day but we will still try to fit in a visit to the Cambambe Dam* where we will have a quick picnic lunch before returning to Luanda through Dondo. Meals included –breakfast, picnic lunch