Angola holiday, Expedition to Angola

An incredibly unique 11 day small group tour into the hinterland of Angola to spend time with traditional ethnic communities and camp out overnight.
Luanda Lubango Virei meeting Mucubal, Muchimba, Mucawana and Mutua people Tchitundo Hulo Angolan bush Oncocua Hangumbe Otchinjau Cahama Chiangue Chibia
Price
£3949To£3999 excluding flights
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Duration
11 Days
Type
Small group
Group size
Up to 12 people
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Description of Angola holiday, Expedition to Angola

This eleven day expedition to Angola takes you into a unique wilderness area of southern Africa that is only just starting to open its doors to adventurous, culture seeking tourists.

As we focus solely on Angola you’ll get a far deeper understanding of the landscapes and the people as well as discovering southern African tribal groups and animal habitats untouched by the crowds stampeding in more popular countries further south.

As our expedition to Angola starts you’ll get a glimpse of life in the capital, Luanda, before jetting off to the southern Angolan city of Lubango, whereupon your adventure into the interior begins in earnest.

Conjuring up a fascinating blend of colonial Portuguese heritage and the colourful character of modern Africa, Lubango is like nothing else you’ve experienced before and invites one final look at contemporary civilisation prior to heading into the tribal realm of the Mucubal people.

Although not many travellers will have heard of the Mucubals, meeting them gives you a cameo of ancient Africa where the sharpening of teeth and the wearing of incredibly opulent headdresses are just a couple of the time-honoured traditions still practised to this day.

From the hunter gather tribes of Mutua and the incredible hairstyles of the Mucuwana to the mud necklaces of the Muila and the iconic Himba people, more commonly associated with Namibia, the final few days of this 11 day expedition to Angola are all about opening up one of Africa’s longest locked anthropological treasure chests.

Throughout the tour you’ll be accompanied by expert guides who ensure communities, settlements and natural habitats are undisturbed by our small group’s presence. The expedition itself has been painstakingly researched to offer adventurous and culturally aware travellers a look at a world functioning outside of what we deem to be the norm where ancient tribal traditions, rituals and customs are undertaken without a moment’s thought to anything outside of Angola. We promise an absolutely eye opening and incredibly unique southern African experience.

Price information

£3949To£3999 excluding flights
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Travel guides

Angola
Angola may take up a lot of space on the map of southern Africa, but it’s almost invisible to travellers. This former Portuguese colony is only just o...
Unusual
In French, they use the word ‘insolite’ to describe an unusual holiday. Which sounds a bit like insolent. Rebelling against the norm.

Responsible Travel

As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) holiday so that you can travel knowing it will help support the places and people that you visit, and the planet. Read how below.

Planet

This tour travels visits a very remote region, which has barely been touched by the presence of humans, and we strongly believe in maintaining its pristine nature. The nature of this trip means that most nights are spent camping. We strive to ensure that we leave these areas as we find them and our team have been trained in strict no litter policies, meaning that we take all refuse to either be recycled or properly disposed of back in Lubango. Washing of dishes is carried out well away from any water sources so as not to contaminate them.

Where there are tracks, we stick to them – not always possible as there are few tracks in this area.

Our travellers are specifically briefed on not to buy souvenirs made from endangered species – people in remote parts of Angola do not always have the same respect towards wildlife as most travellers will have, and can sometimes offer such things for sale.

People

As with many of the trips that we offer, this tour has a strong focus on local culture and different ethnic groups. Where possible we try to ensure that local people benefit from our presence.

We spend time with a variety of different ethnic groups on this trip. Through careful and sensitive research, our local team has established solid relationships with certain communities and our presence here is very much welcomed – we feel that it is very important to be seen as guests here rather than outsiders come to merely look. We are able to spend time with the communities learning about their traditions and customs.

We are careful not to disrupt the traditional way of life of the groups that we visit, most of whom retain strong customs and have not embraced the modern world. As a way to say thank you for allowing us to visit, we bring traditional gifts, such as sugar, tea and so on – we do not bring modern accoutrements that may change their way of life as we feel that it is important for all tribal groups that any move towards a more ‘modern’ lifestyle is made on their own terms and not imposed upon them. We give gifts to the elders of the villages who will then ensure that they are distributed appropriately, rather than just giving them to individuals, which can cause problems, jealousy and fights within small communities.

These are very traditional areas with certain codes of behaviour, and the people here are not that accustomed to outsiders. We ensure that our travellers are appropriately briefed in order so as not to offend local sensibilities.

We work with Angolan drivers and guides, and at the end of each tour encourage our travellers to leave unwanted clothes that they can then distribute to their extended families. We do not encourage travellers to leave these for the local people as we feel it is important that they are able to maintain their traditional lifestyles, which have generally served them well throughout the centuries in often difficult environments. We do not feel that the emulation of western culture, of which western clothing is just the start, would be wholly beneficial for groups such as the Himba, Mucubal and Muhila.

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