ANGOLA

DAY 1: departure from major Italian cities with a connecting flight to Luanda.

DAY 2: arrival at Luanda airport, immigration procedures, and transfer to the domestic terminal. Flight to Lubango, in southern Angola, with arrival in the late afternoon. Meet the local team and transfer to the lodge. Dinner and overnight at the lodge in Lubango.

Morning: visit to Cristo Rei, overlooking the city from above, followed by an excursion to the spectacular Tundavala Gap, which opens onto the Namib Desert. Continue west along the famous winding road of Serra da Leba, one of the most scenic mountain passes in Africa, offering unforgettable views over the valley below.

Afternoon: encounter with the Mucubal tribe, a Bantu-speaking people believed to be of Kenyan origin and culturally related to the Maasai. A semi-nomadic pastoral community, the Mucubal live by raising livestock and practicing subsistence agriculture. The women are easily recognized by their distinctive traditional “Ompota” headdress, a wicker structure decorated with cow tails, buttons, shells, zippers, and colorful beads, a symbol of beauty and cultural identity.

Evening: arrival in Namibe in the evening, followed by dinner and overnight stay in town.

Morning: from this day onward, we leave behind the comfort of hotel rooms in favor of nights under canvas, the true adventure in southern Angola begins here. Head towards the coast to reach Baía dos Tigres, leaving behind rocky formations and low mountain ranges. Here, the landscape becomes increasingly desert-like, with magnificent sand dunes stretching endlessly towards the sea. Visit the wreck of the Vanessa, now swallowed by the desert sands.

Afternoon: lunch stop and, weather and sea conditions permitting, boat excursion to Ilha dos Tigres and the ghost village of São Martinho, once a thriving fishing settlement.

Evening: dinner and overnight camping at Baía dos Tigres.

Morning: breakfast and departure towards the mouth of the Cunene River, marking the natural border between Angola and Namibia. Opportunities to spot seals, flamingos, and pelicans along the way.

Afternoon: continue inland, gradually leaving the coast behind. Along the route, it may be possible to spot mountain zebras, ostriches, springboks, and oryxes roaming the surrounding landscapes. Arrival in Espinheira and camp setup for the night.

Evening: dinner and overnight stay in tents

Morning and afternoon: long 4×4 journey back to Namibe across breathtaking landscapes that gradually transform along the route. From desert plains meeting the Atlantic Ocean to savannahs scattered with acacias and baobabs, this journey reveals some of the most remote and authentic corners of Angola. Photographic stops and moments of quiet contemplation accompany the day’s drive through these still untouched landscapes.

Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Namibe

Morning: breakfast and departure from Namibe towards the spectacular red landscapes of Colinas Canyon

Afternoon: continue along desert tracks to the scenic Lagoa dos Arcos, an oasis of three lakes framed by striking natural rock arches. Here, the journey enters Iona National Park, home to the northern reaches of the Namib Desert, one of the oldest deserts on Earth.

Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Lubango.

Two days and two nights of camping in the deep south of Angola, near the Namibian border, around the villages of Moimba and Oncocua. During the journey, encounters with several local communities, including the Himba, a semi-nomadic people who have lived for centuries across southern Angola and northern Namibia, renowned for their ochre body paint and intricate handcrafted jewellery. Meetings with the Vatwa hunter-gatherer community and the Muhacahona people, who still preserve a deeply traditional way of life centred around subsistence farming and livestock herding. The women’s distinctive hairstyles are created using a mixture of butterfat, herbs, and natural pigments. Visit to the Oncocua market and overnight camping under the African sky.

Morning: Morning departure towards the town of Humbe, home to the Humbia people, part of the larger Herero ethnic group. The Humbia are known for their traditional dress, influenced by German colonial fashion, and for the women’s elaborate hairstyles, regarded as symbols of elegance and social identity. During the visit, there will be the opportunity to gain insight into their daily life, pastoral traditions, and deep connection with the surrounding land.

Return to Lubango in the late afternoon.

Evening: dinner and overnight stay in Lubango

Morning and afternoon dedicated to meeting the Mumuila people, renowned for their rich cultural heritage and distinctive aesthetic traditions, reflected in their unique hairstyles, traditional attire, and handcrafted ornaments. Afterwards, visit to the colourful local market and the town of Chibia, known for its Portuguese colonial architecture, before returning to Lubango airport for the domestic flight to Luanda.