From the vibrant capital of Luanda, one of the oldest cities in sub-Saharan Africa, to verdant, volcanic Lubango and onto the desert beaches of Namibe, this is a weeklong journey through a country in the midst of an epic rebirth. Guided by Chef Helt Araújo, one of Angola’s great culinary minds and a leader of its current reinvention, we will dine in open-air markets and elegant urban restaurants, taste Angolan wines at a private chef’s dinner on the beach, and join an indigenous tribe for a whole-goat roast, traversing this righteous land to meet the people rewriting its destiny.
From the vibrant capital of Luanda, one of the oldest cities in sub-Saharan Africa, to verdant, volcanic Lubango and onto the desert beaches of Namibe, this is a weeklong journey through a country in the midst of an epic rebirth. A nation rising out of hardship to become one of the most alluring destinations on the continent—with culinary and cultural scenes punching far above their weight.
Guided by Chef Helt Araújo, one of the country’s great culinary minds and a leader of its current reinvention, we will dine in open-air markets and elegant urban restaurants, taste Angolan wines at a private chef’s dinner on the beach, and join an indigenous tribe for a whole-goat roast. We will meet renegade farmers and sommeliers, kitchen-savant aunties, and visionary chefs on a quest to revive food traditions that predate the Portuguese conquest. Joined also by the Angolan writer Cláudio Silva, we will traverse this righteous land from mountain to coast and meet the people rewriting its destiny. Light activity level. Meat-centric itinerary.
Welcome cocktails at Epic Sana, gazing down from one of its tallest buildings onto the oldest city in southern Africa
Dinner with our culinary guide, Chef Helt Araújo, at his restaurant, Flor do Duke, learning about his ambitious Ovina Yetu Foundation, which brings together a team of chefs, scientists, and researchers to “unearth the hidden roots of Angolan culinary culture.”
Chartered boat ride in the Bay of Luanda, where Portuguese colonizers founded the city in the 16th century. The bay was the point of no return for millions, the place from which Angola sent more enslaved people to the Americas than any other country
A quintessential Luanda experience: lunch at Tia Vivi’s fish stall for Mufete, the city’s iconic dish
Gin workshop learning a local take on the spirit—infused with Angolan botanicals and rebel ingenuity
Dinner at Teimosa da Banda with Portuguese-Mozambican chef Ricardo Braga, blending the culinary traditions of the two cultures he grew up in
Tasting of Maruvo, local palm wine that predates the Portuguese arrival
Lunch at Tia Lina, a traditional open-air restaurant specializing in Angolan staples like spice-laden moamba and calulu, paired with beers from across Africa
Dinner with Chef Alfonso Vidiera, executive chef of Cláudio’s restaurant Kissanje, an innovative showcase of the immense quality of the Angolan product
“Rota dos Escravos” Walking Tour through Coqueiros, Luanda’s oldest neighborhood and a crucial transit point for millions of enslaved Africans who were forcibly taken from this area and transported to the Americas
Afternoon flight to Lubango out of the brand-new airport
Check in to Pululukwa Resort, our chic home base among the area’s dense vegetation
Private dinner at Pululukwa by Chef Helt Araújo featuring rare ingredients endemic to this part of Angola
Visit to a local indigenous tribe that works frequently with Chef Helt and with whom we will prepare a celebratory whole-goat roast
Ascend to the Fenda do Alto Bimbe, a massive rock formation and Angolan geo-heritage site, where we will have a picnic featuring traditional local beverages
Head to Fazenda Serra N’Tandavala, a farm run by Swiss-descended Angolans putting out incredible artisanal products, for an afternoon with the growers, followed by open-air dinner on the farm
Road trip! Enjoy the extraordinary scenic drive from high-altitude Lubango across desert coast to the traditional seaside town of Namibe
Stop at Serra da Leba Viewpoint for iconic images of Angolan landscape rolling out to the horizon
Beach day at Oceanus Baía das Pipas featuring a wine-tasting on the beach of Vale do Bero, the first wine produced in Angola
Dinner on the beach around a fire pit, featuring modern Angolan cuisine with South African and Portuguese influences prepared at a jango (beach gazebo) by the amazing Chef Anselmo Silvestre, a veteran of the Cape Town dining scene
Sleep in beach huts facing the ocean, hearing the waves lap against the shores of Namibe
Languorous morning on the beach, enjoying a last al fresco lunch in Namibe
Afternoon flight to Luanda
Extraordinary final chef’s dinner with pairings of Angolan, Portuguese, and African wines
Day
8
Farewell to Angola
May 21 · Thursday
Wake slowly, gingerly
Breakfast at the hotel
Private transfer to the airport or wherever your journey continues
What’s Included
All breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, as well as snacks and beverages between meals
All accommodations and transportation during the trip (except when taking a taxi or ride app independently during unscheduled time)
Expertise and services of our experienced trip leaders: at least one guide and one host per trip
Additional guides and experts from the region
Transfers to and from the airport or wherever you are on the day the trip starts and ends
Daily Roads & Kingdoms gifts, notes, and playlists related to the themes, activities and narratives of each trip
All gratuities for accommodations, meals, guiding or transport
What’s Not Included
International airfare to and from the journey (note: some trips begin and end at different airports)
Transfers on days that fall outside of the trip dates
Personal bar tabs (when not with the group)
Personal laundry or spa services
Personal travel insurance
Meet Our Hosts
Culinary Guide
Helt Araújo
Chef, Researcher, Restaurateur
A central figure in Angola’s recent culinary flourishing, Chef Helt Araújo was born in the western Angolan city of Benguela. He has trained in various restaurants around the world, beginning in Lisbon at the School of Hospitality and Tourism. Distinguished as “Chef of the Future” by the International Academy of Gastronomy, his many projects include Luanda restaurants Flor do Duke and Marina Baía, and the groundbreaking Ovina Yetu Foundation, which brings together a task force of chefs, scientists, and researchers to “unearth the hidden roots of Angolan culinary culture.”
R&K Host
André Magalhães
Pioneering Portuguese Chef
Luanda-born, Lisbon-raised André Magalhães is the legendary chef behind Lisbon’s phenomenal Taberna da Rua das Flores and Quiosque de São Paulo, the city’s oldest food kiosk. A significant figure in the Slow Food movement, Magalhães developed the sustainable food program at Omali Lodge, an eco-resort on the island of São Tomé in Africa, and is a celebrated writer, public speaker, and jury member at culinary events across the globe.
R&K Guide
Cláudio Silva
Writer, Traveler, Entrepreneur
Cláudio Silva was born in the Angolan capital of Luanda, grew up in the United States, and moved back to Luanda 20 years later to found LNL, Angola’s largest food and tourism platform, where he is the managing director. He’s written for a variety of travel, lifestyle, and economic publications, including CNN Travel, The Guardian, The Africa Report, The Continent, and of course Roads & Kingdoms. He’s an avid traveler and doesn’t believe you can own too many cookbooks.
Where You’ll Stay
Epic Sana
Rooftop Luxury
We very rarely do chains, but this one is different. Sana Hotels are well-known throughout the Lusophone world, but the Epic Sana Luanda is a jewel in Sana’s crown, one of the first luxury hotels to flourish in the new peacetime Angola. With our close connections to the management team, and their excellent rooms and amenities, Epic Sana Luanda is a natural home for us in the capital
Pululukwa Resort
Lubango Hideaway
Tucked among the lush vegetation of Lubango, the 200-acre Pululukwa Resort comprises 60 luxury bungalows spread over three villages and connected by long walkways. “Pululukwa” means “rest the body,” and this is indeed an ideal setting to unwind from our exploration of verdant, high-altitude Lubango at the edge of natural terrain roamed by zebras, ostriches, alligators, and countless bird species.
Oceanus Baía das Pipas
Paradise to yourself
Oceanus Baía das Pipas is best accessible through a new highway road that only our guide Cláudio seems to know. It’s a family-run nearly secret spot on a gorgeous beach where you can swim in the warm Atlantic waters while fishermen haul their wooden boats onto the sand a few hundred yards away. The cabanas are rustic but comfortable, and combined with chef Anselmo Silva’s private dinner, it is the best version of Angola’s Namibe coast.
Amazing. Wonderful. Transformative.
Josefa B.
Eternal Angola 2025
An R&K trip isn’t a vacation: It’s a collective of travelers who appreciate food and connection and want to see underneath the surface of a location.
Antonina O.
Eternal Angola 2025
The connections R&K has in the community made this trip feel like a once-in-a-lifetime experience that could not be replicated by any other company.
This week is a full celebration of the best of central and western Morocco, from luxurious riads and back-alley cooking in Marrakesh to Amazigh feasts in the highlands to the coastal ease of Essaouira.
From future-facing Cape Town to the winelands of Stellenbosch and Bot River, this is a weeklong journey across one of the most naturally abundant and culturally complex places on this planet. Our guide is none other than Reuben Riffel, one of the country’s most celebrated chefs whose success would have been unimaginable under the Apartheid system into which he was born.
