About 35 kilometres southwest of Lubango, the plateau ends and the road begins its extraordinary descent to the coast. The Serra da Leba pass drops around 1,000 metres over a short distance via twelve tight hairpin bends engineered into the cliff face — a genuine feat of road-building and one of the most visually dramatic stretches of tarmac in Africa. If you are driving it yourself, stop at the viewpoint near the top before you commit to the descent: the view back up at the switchbacks, and out over the endless lowland plains, is one of those images that stays with you.
The road connects Lubango with Namibe on the coast, and while much of Angola's road network remains in poor condition, the Serra da Leba has been rebuilt and is well maintained. Driving it in either direction is worthwhile — going up from the coast you experience the drama of the escarpment rising ahead of you; going down you can stop at each bend and watch the plains open up below. Allow time for the journey, and be cautious with trucks on the hairpins.