Click on the outline map at the top-left of the screen to view the detailed map (lines in blue are routes undertaken since 2002, lines in green are those undertaken prior to 2002).

My only visit was in November 2002, but a country I will definitely return again.

In general, I enjoyed my time in Angola. I felt quite safe, I never saw any landmines, and my route seemed to miss the areas worst affected by the civil war. Nonetheless, the 25 year long civil war had only ended 6 months prior to my visit, and so the country had not even started to rebuild its shattered infrastructure. The country has enormous birding potential, as virtually no-one has been able to visit the country since the early 1970's. While much is written about the landmines, the areas I visited had not been mined, and so it appeared to be quite safe to walk - this impression was enhanced by the fact I hardly saw any disabled people - normally a clear sign that there are landmines in the area.

The official language is Portuguese - but it doesn't appear to be the "European" Portuguese - my phrase book based on Portugal was not as useful as I had hoped. Few people spoke English, although a variety of African languages were spoken. Consequently, communication was not impossible, and misunderstandings were rare. However, cultural differences were certainly there.

In terms of gestures, a request for money - which took me a bit of time to work out - was unlike anything I have seen in any country, and involves wiping one hand over another the palm of the other.

I was surprised at the insistence at the police station in Ondjiva that I wear long trousers. There seemed to be no such problems elsewhere in the country with my wearing shorts. I am not sure why this was a requirement, but it seemed to be very much the exception.

The entry at the border post was straight-forward, although a person able to speak Portuguese would have found it easier. Throughout Angola, virtually no English was spoken, so communication with the police and other officials was not easy for me. Nevertheless, I never had any animosity shown against me except one soldier in Damba, who was verbally abusive. However, his colleagues restrained him - and I suspect it was due to me being a South African. Since South Africa supported the opposition for 15 years of Angola's civil war, it was actually surprising that there was not more animosity.

One thing to be very wary of is that police use whistles to issue a command. If you hear a whistle, the first thing to work out is whether it is directed at you. If it is, you are expected to immediately stop, and wait for the police. However, on the first occasion when I was whistled at, I did not stop, but no serious action was taken against me.

Obviously a valid passport and visa are required. The visa was easy to obtain (for a South African anyway) at the embassy in Pretoria, and cost R 750-00. When the application was submitted to the embassy, they asked for a letter of invitation from the Ministry of Tourism, but actually issued the visa two days later without it. The really important document is a (south African) police certificate of clearance, "proving" that the vehicle has not been stolen. This can be obtained without cost from any SAPS Vehcile Inspection Centre. This was the key document for taking a vehicle into Angola. There was no interest in the Carnet de Passage, or any other documents. However, there were no charges at all at the border post to enter the country.

Angola has a reputation as a very corrupt country, but this seems to be at two levels. First is at the commercial level, where government officials take probes for permits, etc. The second is that the police stop many vehicles and road-blocks, and ensure that they are paid a "fee" for allowing a vehicle through. However, the latter seems to be restricted to Angolans - foreigners are not hassled the same way, and I was never asked to pay what seemed to be a relatively standard fee of 50 Kwanza.

One issue that I have not resolved is what papers were required when travelling through the country. I suspect it was a requirement to obtain a police permit to travel from one province to another. If so, it was not rigidly enforced, but I believe that it - combined with my inability to speak Portuguese - that lead to some hassle at police check-points. Based on a document shown me at one checkpoint, the document is a "Passe" issued by the "Direcção Nacional das Alfândegas".

Checkpoints are relatively common (usually there is one near each major town). The police were invariably friendly, but the process of checking the police clearance certificate (where all permits and other notes were written) was always time-consuming. In general, I found that I was delayed for about two hours per day by the police. Hence my suspicion that there was a better way of travelling through the country. Nevertheless, while it was a waste of time, I never felt threatened or anything, the officials were always prepared to smile, and no firearms were ever drawn or pointed at me.

DISCLAIMER: I have to reiterate that this is based entirely on my own experiences, which may not be typical. I am 6 feet 8 inches tall (that is just over 2 metres tall), and not of slender build! Hence, it is quite possible people do not threaten me as much as other tourists. It also means that my experiences may not be applicable to others visiting this country.

As mentioned above, there were no signs of landmines, nor of any military activity - except for the odd abandoned tank. The police and army at the checkpoints were armed, but they never pointed weapons at me.

All the people I met (with the one exception referred to above) were friendly, and there seemed to be specific animosity (or even interest) in tourists - although, since I must have been one of the first, perhaps they didn't recognize one!

I never tried wandering around the towns on foot, as there was no reason to do so. There were also no problems camping in the countryside, or even at the waterfall site, which was (originally) designed as a picnic site, with no official campsites anywhere in the country.

This country drives on the right - so remember to change when driving from Namibia to Angola.

South of Luanda, the roads were very variable, but all of them could easily be travelled using a two-wheel drive vehicle - although I wouldn't have wanted to use my own car on such routes. All bridges and suchlike were fine, and even the track to Conde would be possible for a car.

North of Luanda, the roads through the forested areas were much poorer, and two-wheel drive vehicles could expect to get stuck. North of Damba was definitely 4-wheel drive country.

Given the state of the road in the DRC, I would not recommend the route I took to travel north from Angola. This leaves the question, which is the best route? I doubt anyone actually knows. One possibility might be to drive up the west coast to N'seto and then to Matadi, where there is a bridge over the Congo. However, no-one could tell me anything about the route - and it may not be viable. I believe that the route used by the Angolan army when going to Kinshasa was to go east from Luanda to Saurimo, and then north to Tshikapa. While the road might be OK, this would traverse the diamond areas of Angola, where banditry is reputedly very common, and many people warned me off that route - and the DRC side in that area is possible even more dangerous. Hence, I would be most interested to hear what other routes people try to cross from Angola to DRC.

The currency is the Angolan Kwanza, and the exchange rate was been fairly stable in late 2002 at K 52 to the US dollar- that is the rate available in Angola. International banks offer only K31 to the US$ - so don't even think of changing money before arriving in Angola. I found no problems in changing money at the southern border post from one of about three dealers there. However, there was - of course - no way of changing money at the northern border.

Petrol and diesel are easily obtainable in the large towns, and very cheap. Diesel is K 8 per litre, with Petrol K 12 per litre.

There was an open air art / curio market on the road into Luanda from the south, which looked to be a permanent feature. Sadly I did stop off there, as it looked as if it might be quite interesting.

Apart from that, there seemed to be very little commercial activity, and I would suggest that a tourist brings everything they need with them. It also means there is little to spend your money on, so don't change more than you have to. Kissama NP only takes US dollars, and charges $4 per vehicles and $2 per person per day for entrance. Accomodation is extra, and depends on what type you are after.

There is no up-to-date information on birding. The information I received came from Pedro vaz Pinto, who had only visited Conde for the first time a couple of weeks before me. Birders wanting to explore the country will have to rely on the pre-1975 information - which is pretty scare anyway. Hopefully a lot of keen birders from South Africa will venture in, because it is only a 2-day drive away, and is very cheap (other than the cost of the visa).

Obviously the Gabela area holds a variety of endemics, and a lot of work will be required to identify the best remaining forest remnants which will hold the species. But the whole country has enormous possibilities, and I am sure it will be many years before the best birding spots have been identified. Until then, I hope that birders do not restrict themselves to where others have previously travelled, but are prepared to be adventurous, and spend at least some of their time in "unexplored" areas.

Subsequent to my visit, Ian Sinclair made two brief forays into the country, and found several more endemics than I did. Given his experience, this isn't surprising, but at least I got there first!

Not yet available.

Click here for useful sites that I have marked
Click here for a general gazetteer

Pedro vaz Pinto - keen birder, working for the Kissama Foundation, who may be able to assist with guiding services
Roland Goetz - Park Manager at Kissama NP
Richard Dean - African Bird Club recorder for Angola

The most comprehensive birding information and links is available from the fatbirder website
while the African Bird Club website can provide additional information

UK Travel Advice and click on "countries & regions" then "country profiles" then "use shortcut menu"
US Travel Advice