Tourism in Angola
Encyclopedia
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
is a giant jigsaw puzzle of different climates, landscapes, cultures and colors." Angola's tourism industry is relatively new, as much of the country was destroyed during the post-colonial civil war
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
which ended in 2002.
Cameia National Park
Cameia National Park
Cameia National Park
Cameia National Park is a national park in the Moxico province of Angola, located at about 1100 m above sea level. It shares its name with the nearby municipality of Cameia. The Cameia–Luacano road forms the northern boundary of the park with the Chifumage River forming the southern portion of the...
is a visitor attraction in Angola. It is a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in the Moxico
Moxico (province)
Moxico is the largest province of the African nation of Angola. It has an area of 223,023 km² and a population of approximately 230,000. Luena is the capital of the province....
province of Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, located at about 1100 m above sea level. It shares its name with the nearby municipality of Cameia
Cameia
Cameia is a municipality in Moxico Province, Angola. It is notable for its national park of the same name. Cameia and Lucano form the boundaries of the park. Cameia National Park was established as a game reserve in 1938 and proclaimed a national park in 1957...
. The Cameia
Cameia
Cameia is a municipality in Moxico Province, Angola. It is notable for its national park of the same name. Cameia and Lucano form the boundaries of the park. Cameia National Park was established as a game reserve in 1938 and proclaimed a national park in 1957...
–Luacano
Luacano
Luacano is a municipality in Moxico Province, Angola....
road forms the northern boundary of the park with the Chifumage River forming the southern portion of the eastern boundary and the Lumege and Luena rivers the south-western boundary. Much of the park consists of seasonally inundated plains that form part of the Zambezi river basin, with the northern half of the park draining into the Chifumage river. There are also extensive miombo woodlands, similar to those in the Zambezi basin of western Zambia. The park is a sample of nature not occurring elsewhere in Angola. Two lakes, Lago Cameia and Lago Dilolo
Lago Dilolo
Dilolo Lake is the largest lake in Angola. It is located in Moxico Province....
(the largest lake in Angola) lie outside the park boundaries and both have extensive reedbeds and grassy swamps that are rich in aquatic birds.
Cangandala National Park
Cangandala National Park
Cangandala National Park
Cangandala National Park is a national park in Malanje Province, Angola. It is situated between the Cuije river and 2 unnamed territories of the Cuanza, with the towns of Culamagia and Techongolola on the edges of the park. It is the smallest national park in Angola.-History:The park was created in...
is another visitor attraction in Angola. It is the smallest National Park in the country and is situated in the Malanje province
Malanje (province)
Malanje is a province of Angola. It has an area of 97,602 km² and a population of approximately 900,000. Malanje is the capital of the province. Municipalities in this province include Massango, Marimba, Cunda-dia-Baza, Caombo, Calandula, Cacuzo, Cuaba Nzogo, Mucari, Quela, Cambundi-Catembo,...
. It is situated between the Cuije river and 2 unnamed territories of the Cuanza River
Cuanza River
The Cuanza River is a river in Angola. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean just south of the nation's capital, Luanda....
, with the towns of Culamagia and Techongolola on the edges of the park. The park was created in 1963 while Angola was still under Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colony.
Iona National Park
Iona National Park, located in Namibe Province, is another popular tourist destination. It is about 200 Km from the city of Namibe
Namibe
Namibe is the capital city of Namibe Province in Angola. It is a coastal desert city located in southwestern Angola and was founded in 1840 by the Portuguese rulers of the territory. The city's current population is 132,900...
and, at 5850 sq. miles, the largest in the country. Before the Angolan Civil War
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...
, Iona was an "animal paradise, rich in big game". However, as is true for most Angolan national parks, illegal poaching and the destruction of infrastructure have caused considerable damage to the once rich park. The park is also known for unique flora and incredible rock formations.
Mupa National Park
Mupa National Park in the southwestern Cunene province
Cunene (province)
Cunene is a province of Angola. It has an area of 87,342 km² and a population of approximately 200,000 to 300,000.-Overview:Ondjiva is the capital of the province it was previously known as Vila Pereira d’Eça . Ondjiva is the only city in this province...
was proclaimed a National Park on 26 December 1964 while the country was still a Portuguese colony. The park is significant for its expected wide (though generally unstudied) avifauna
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. Many Angolans reside within the park, which, along with nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic pastoralists and mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
prospecting threatens to destroy the park's birdlife. According to one article, "Even though the park was initially proclaimed to protect the giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
sub-species, Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis, by 1974 none were left because the morphology of the White Giraffe leaves it particularly vulnerable to landmines left over from Angola's civil war compared to other giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
sub-species. Other mammals which occurred, include lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, wild dog
African Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf...
and spotted hyena
Spotted Hyena
The spotted hyena also known as laughing hyena, is a carnivorous mammal of the family Hyaenidae, of which it is the largest extant member. Though the species' prehistoric range included Eurasia extending from Atlantic Europe to China, it now only occurs in all of Africa south of the Sahara save...
".