Nzenzo Caves - Lush and Mystical Wonder

Known in the local language as Ntadi dya Nzenzo, which translates to Stone of the Tap, the Nzenzo Caves are a wonderful. Voted one of the 7 Natural Wonders of Angola, the caves are located in Aldeia Bombo, in the municipality of Ambuíla, in the verdant province of Uíge.

The track to the caves is not easy – you will have to travel more than 100 kilometres of dirt trails from the city of Uíge, capital of the province of the same name, a journey that you will have to make by jeep -, and for now, it isn’t signposted either, which means that it is best to travel in the company of a local, who knows exactly where this lost paradise can be found. The last few kilometres to Aldeia Bombo give you a preview of what you’ll find there: an immensely green, lush, pure and untouched place. Once we arrive at the destination, it’s time to ask permission from the village chief to visit the caves. It is he who accompanies visitors, now on foot, and along a path made of grass, all the way to the mysterious site. Once we get there, the village chief then leads the ritual to ask for permission from the gods and ancestors to allow the Nzenzo Caves to be visited without anything bad happening to the visitors – legend has it that whoever enters the caves without respecting this ritual will fall sick, never to get better. The ceremony is concluded with a traditional anointing made with herbs and alcohol.

The main attraction of these caves is the gaping hole through which water gushes, clear and cool, uninterruptedly.

Surrounded by large trees, when they are seen from afar, the Nzenzo Caves give off the impression that they are not very large. A trick of nature. It is only when we get close that we become aware of their size and beauty. The main and immediately visible attraction of these caves is the gaping hole through which water gushes, clear and cool, uninterruptedly, even in the dry season. With no known river nearby, it is not known from where so much water comes from, which leads to it being seen as such a mystical place.

You can’t truly get to know the Nzenzo Caves without entering them. For this, we have to crawl in almost no light and low oxygen levels to reach their recesses. Small chambers with drawings on the ceiling, rudimentary pans, and other traces of human presence. It was here, in these caves, that the locals hid from the Portuguese at the time of the colonial war. Some say that if you keep on walking you will find a lake and a forest inhabited by animals such as lions, deer, gazelles, reptiles and birds – there are witnesses, who claim to have seen some animal skeletons inside the cave, which proves this theory.

We do not go too far into these caves. We prefer to stay to admire their beauty and to speculate on the truth to all these stories. Because sometimes legends are a more beautiful place than reality.

You can’t truly get to know the Nzenzo Caves without entering them.

Text: Andreia Barros Ferreira
Photography: Manuel Teixeira