Black Rocks of Pungo Andongo
Pedras Negras de Pungo Andongo
Interesting facts
- David Livingstone stayed at Pungo Andongo in late 1854 and described its rock columns as more than 300 feet high.
- Livingstone spent weeks here rewriting the maps, dispatches and journal he had lost when the mail ship Forerunner sank on its way to Britain.
- In his account, Livingstone noted the conglomerate of the rocks, with rounded pebbles set in a matrix of red sandstone.
- The explorer judged the area the healthiest part of Angola, recording wild vines and wheat that grew without irrigation.
- Livingstone observed that the village sat at the centre of nearly inaccessible rocks that could be defended against whole armies.
- The Portuguese siege of 1671 lasted about nine months, from February until the stronghold was stormed on 18 November.
- The last king of Ndongo, João Hari, fled to Libolo after the fall but was captured and executed, ending the kingdom.
- Members of the defeated royal family were sent into exile in Brazil or confined in Portuguese monasteries.
- Queen Njinga, honoured by the footprint legend, first won fame in the early 1620s by negotiating peace with the Portuguese in Luanda for her brother.
Why it is worth it
Rising abruptly from the savanna of northern Angola, the Pedras Negras, or Black Rocks, of Pungo Andongo are a cluster of enormous dark monoliths that can be seen from far across the surrounding plain. The towers vary in height from about 70 to 200 metres, and their rounded, fissured flanks give the landscape a look found nowhere else in the region. They form an extension of the Cacuso plateau and are divided into four groups, the western, southern, northern and southeastern subsystems, of which the western is the best known.
Geologically, the rocks are sedimentary conglomerates: a solid mass of sandstone in which cobbles of many kinds are embedded, compacted under pressure millions of years ago and later lifted up. Erosion has since separated the uplifted mass into free-standing domes, towers and walls, which stand out against the flat savanna for miles around.
The rocks are also bound up with Angolan history. The area of Pungo Andongo was the last capital of the Kingdom of Ndongo, whose rulers bore the title Ngola. In 1671 Portuguese forces besieged and captured the stronghold among the rocks, and afterwards built the Fortress of Pungo Andongo there. Local tradition holds that footprints marked in the stone belong to Queen Njinga, known in Portuguese as Ana de Sousa Ginga, the most famous ruler of Ndongo. Together, the geology and the history make the Black Rocks one of the most important natural and historical landmarks in Angola, and a place where the memory of the old kingdom is still tied to the landscape.
Getting there
The Pedras Negras lie in the municipality of Cacuso in Malanje Province, about 32 km from the town of Cacuso. The nearest airport is Malanje Airport (MEG), about 81 km away.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
The Black Rocks at Pungo Andongo are a set of extensive monolithic rock formations in Angola. Millions of years old, they stand out for their size in relation to the savanna landscape of the region. It is subdivided into Western, South, North and Southeast subsystems. The formation is an extension of the Cacuso Plateau.
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