All activities / Wildlife Safaris / Kissama National Park
Wildlife Safaris in Kissama National Park
Angola's most accessible wildlife park, on the Atlantic coast about seventy kilometres south of Luanda, where the Kwanza River meets baobab savanna and reintroduced elephants and antelope are slowly rebuilding after the country's long war.
Why here
Kissama, also spelled Quicama, is the easiest safari in Angola and a symbol of the country's recovery. Just a couple of hours south of Luanda, it stretches from the Atlantic across baobab-dotted savanna to the wide Kwanza River, and it is the flagship of Angola's slow rewilding. Its elephants are the descendants of animals airlifted in from Botswana and South Africa in the early 2000s under a project nicknamed Operation Noah's Ark, brought to restock a park emptied by decades of civil war, and they now share the bush with red buffalo, antelope such as bushbuck and oribi, and returning species. The Kwanza River side is the other half of the experience, a boat safari past hippos, crocodiles and river birds toward the estuary, where manatees survive. This is not the dense game of East Africa; it is a large, wild, half-empty landscape where the story is as much about restoration as about big herds, and where you may have the tracks to yourself.
Best months
The dry season from June to September is best, with cooler weather, thinner bush and animals drawn to the river, and the tracks are far easier without the rains. Wildlife densities are still low by East or Southern African standards, so come for the landscape, the river and the conservation story rather than guaranteed big herds. Boat trips on the Kwanza run year-round and are a highlight in any season.
Getting there & around
Kissama is about seventy kilometres south of Luanda, roughly two hours by road across the Kwanza bridge, so it works as a long day trip or an overnight at the park lodge or a river camp. Most visitors go with a Luanda-based operator who provides the vehicle, guide and park entry, since public transport and self-drive infrastructure are limited. Angola issues an e-visa or visa on arrival for many nationalities; check current rules and your government advisory before travel.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Angola Travel and Tours
OutfitterAngola Travel and Tours is an Angola-based operator running since 2015, with its own guides and vehicles and a Luanda office. It runs guided trips across the country, and Kissama is one of its core products: game drives for the park's reintroduced elephants and antelope, Kwanza River boat safaris for hippos and crocodiles, and overnight stays, with all park entry, transport and guiding handled. It also operates tours to Kalandula Falls, Namibe and the southern deserts.