The country with incredible natural wonders that few tourists have seen

After decades largely cut off from the world, Angola’s natural wonders are again ready for discovery. The southern African country is twice the size of Texas, and the roads and accommodation that will allow more tourists to explore the interior are just getting into place.

But even a short drive from the capital city Luanda takes you to beaches, cliffs and national parks where you’ll often feel like the only visitor there.

Much of Luanda’s growth has pushed to the south. The posh, Brazilian-style suburb of Talatona sprawls with designer shops and spas. Chinese companies built geometrically planned neighborhoods in nearby Kilamba, with identical apartment blocks evenly spaced apart.

But down the coast, the urban landscape suddenly ends and, about an hour later, opens up to a lunar landscape on the beach. Miradoura da Lua, or the Viewpoint of the Moon, is a region where oceanside cliffs have over eons worn away to reveal wavy rock formations underneath. It’s like a landscape of stalagmites, but on a tropical beach instead of in a cave. The highest points nearest the cliffs are tinted with red earth, shifting through shades of white and gray to the blue waters of the Atlantic.

There’s a small fee to enter the best viewing area, which has a raised viewing deck over a cafe and a small craft market. The cafe has a Biblioteca Fresca, or a Cool Library. Like a Free Little Library, it houses books, but is set inside a rebranded, busted refrigerator. If you donate a book, the cafe will give you a free drink.

Quicama National Park

Just 15 kilometers (nine miles) down the coast is a gate to Quiçama National Park. Five decades of war, from a 1950s rebellion against colonial rule to the 1990s civil conflict, decimated the wildlife. Thanks to steady efforts to repopulate the park, giraffes, elephants and other large animals once again roam — but don’t expect the massive herds famous in better-known safari destinations.

"The combination of untouched nature, easy access and an authentic wildlife experience makes Quiçama an appealing destination," said Lourena Lourenço Panzo, a guide from Lelutour, one of the new companies that has sprung up to cater to overseas travelers.

The park covers three million acres, and the interior is far less accessible. Animals and русское порно жесток people live in a different balance than in Africa’s better-known parks. During the war years, people hunted the animals because they needed the meat to survive. In some cases, people moved onto park lands, because the boundaries weren’t marked, or because landmines covered so much of the country. It’s only in recent years that efforts have really taken off to explain to communities how they can benefit from tourism and conservation efforts.

That also means that when you do spot animals, you’ll probably get to experience the sighting alone, without the hordes of safari trucks that can fill the famous parks in East and Southern Africa.