Malanje is a provincial capital in Angola's interior, about 400 km east of Luanda. The city itself is modest and still bears marks of the civil war, but it is the base for visiting Kalandula Falls — one of the largest waterfalls in Africa by volume, where the Lucala River drops over 100 metres in a wide curtain of water. The falls are about 85 km from Malanje on a rough but passable road, and they are genuinely spectacular.
The surrounding countryside is beautiful — rolling green hills, giant baobabs, and rivers cutting through the plateau. The Pedras Negras de Pungo Andongo, a formation of massive black rocks rising from the plain about 115 km from Malanje, are dramatic and steeped in local legend. South of the city, Cangandala National Park shelters the last giant sable antelope on Earth. Travel in this part of Angola remains adventurous — roads are rough, facilities basic, and self-sufficiency is important.