The coloured columns
Red and orange.
Paulo César Santos — CC0 · jlrsousa — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mayada Marrom — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mayada Marrom — CC BY-SA 4.0
Miradouro da Lua, the Moon Viewpoint, is a set of cliffs about 40 km south of Luanda in the municipality of Belas. It takes its name from the moon-like landscape that wind and rain erosion have carved here. It is the most visited tourist sight in Angola and an essential stop on the way to the Cuanza River mouth and the beaches of Cabo Ledo. The cliffs formed over a long time as water and wind cut into soft layers of earth, leaving columns and deep gullies. The place was the setting of the 1993 film «O Miradouro da Lua», the first Portuguese-Angolan film co-production, which won a prize at the Gramado festival in Brazil. From the cliff edge you see a deep valley of columns and jagged peaks in shades of red, orange, grey and white. The cliffs drop to a green plain of scrub, with the ocean in the distance. The colours change a great deal with the sun and are strongest at sunset. It is about 45 km from central Luanda in a straight line. The edge is crumbly, so do not go too close and stay behind any barriers. Carry water and a hat.
Red and orange.
Deep gullies.
Stronger colours.
Barra do Cuanza road, south of Luanda, Angola
Erosion created a landscape that looks like the moon.
At sunset, when the colours are strongest.