Miraduoro da Lua or Moon Viewpoint is one of the greatest sightseeing places in Angola. It is located just outside the capital of Angola.
Miraduoro da Lua boasts of breathtaking landscape which consists of rock formations created over thousands of years by rain and wind erosion. Thus, Miraduoro da Lua reminds of the surface of the moon. The best way to do sightseeing in Miraduoro da Lua is during a sightseeing hiking trip or while camping in Angola. Miraduoro da Lua provides for a unique, one-of-a-kind sightseeing experience not to missed when touring Angola.
The geology of Angola includes large areas of Precambrian age rocks. The west of the country is characterized by meta-sedimentary rocks of Proterozoic age including tillites assigned to the Bembe System. Overlying these are a thick pile of limestones and other marine sediments laid down during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. Amidst the Proterozoic sequence are areas of crystalline basement dating from the Archaean. More Archaean basement rocks form the Kasai Craton in northeastern Angola. In the north, within the Cassanje Graben are clastic sediments and volcanic rocks of the Karoo Supergroup. Kimberlites and carbonatites resulting from magmatic activity during the Karoo period are found along a northeast-southwest line through the country. Continental sediments of the Kalahari Group are widespread in eastern Angola.
The Mesozoic of Angola is very rich of fossil vertebrates, namely marine reptiles such as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, related with the opening of South Atlantic. Only a couple of terrestrial fossils have been collected, including the unique dinosaur Angolatitan adamastor.
Touring Miraduoro da Lua
Who says you need to leave the earth in order to experience the moon? make a short trip to Belas, just a few kilometres south of Luanda. You will soon arrive at a place where the blue of the ocean clashes with the yellowish ochre rock cliffs. At this point, you know you’ve arrived at the Miradouro da Lua (“Viewpoint of the Moon”). Its name is derived from the rocky formations that centuries of erosion have shaped into something resembling a lunar landscape.
The easiest way of getting there is to pick up a car and drive south along the EN100 road. You will find the Miradouro in the coastal area of Belas. Do stay for a while, enjoy this lovely landscape and watch the sunset before moving on. It is quite an experience!
