Lubango – The Angolan tourism agency, Tac Tour, will bring more foreign tourists to the “Mumuila Trail”, located in the Tundavala area, with the aim of internationalizing, valuing the place, as well as preserving the habits and customs of the Muila tribe predominant in the region.
The Muila people belong to the Nyaneka ethnic group who live on the Humpata plateau and along the “headwaters” of the Caculuvar river, in southwest Angola, in Huíla. In the province there is still a striking expression of culture, such as the mumuila, which has part of its body exposed from the waist up.
Speaking to ANGOP, in this city, the Tac Tour head, Carlos Bumba, stated that the internationalization aims to mark the place, to be a geo-site and for it to evolve into an ecological, protective geo-park of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
It is a four-kilometer trail, which will be part of the Huíla Tourist Map, made since 2015, the high season is from May to August, the peak period when it is less tiring to hike.
The prospect of testing the trail's internationalization, according to the source, had the first in 2022 with the Italian embassy, while the second was in November 2023, with Portuguese, Brazilian and national tourists.
He added that the trail intends to enhance local culture, through the empowerment of local communities, with the sale of products, from food, accessories, clothing, local crafts and others.
“Hiking in nature gives peace of mind, reduces the burden on psychologists, rejuvenates the body and mind, encourages the Government to take measures to create landscape plans in order to preserve the ecosystem”, he highlighted.
Another advantage of the trail, according to the source, is the economic circulation, with the movement of pharmacies, shops, restaurants and drinks, as well as transport, establishing the city of Lubango in Angola's ecotourism panorama.
He mentioned that this internationalization of the trail depends on an ethical instrument, which safeguards the issue of the vulnerability of the mumuilas, so as not to put at risk the Muila women who have previously been the target of exploitation in tourist locations.
“The idea is to have a defense and protection mechanism for the Mumuila and we are already working with the government in this regard, and only then internationalize it officially. We want these women, instead of staying in tourist areas, to stay at home and the tourists to go to their place to buy their accessories,” he reported.
He reinforced that tourists must feel that they directly contribute to the growth of the community, through direct contact and interaction with the local population.
Rota Vicentina influences the internationalization of the trail
The president of the Association of Tourist Guides and Artistic Servers of Angola detailed that the internationalization of the trail will still be done under the influence of the Rota Vicentina (between Setúbal and Algarve, Portugal), financed by UNESCO and has existed for close to nine years, created by a lady born in Lubango, but residing in Portugal.
He highlighted that the woman and her husband took the local trail and decided that tourist groups that pass through the Rota Vicentina will also go to Mumuila, in Lubango.
“We have here on this trail, through cycle tourism, customers of Angolan oil companies, who take the bike tour from Tundavala to Serra da Leba. While the men come to cycle, their wives and children follow the trail”, he added.
He made it known that from the 28th of February to the 3rd of March they will take the trail to the Lisbon Tourism Exchange, which will be in line with the Vicentina trail made not only by the Portuguese, but also by Germans, Italians, Norwegians, Poles, Danes, Finns, among other tourists.
He stated that participation in the Mumuila trail is still low, as they have three tours per year, on a four-monthly basis, where the groups hardly reach 20 each, but the impact has been strong, so there is the prospect that in the current year they will have 10 walks on site and in 2025 try to double it.
Agency works to improve the trail
Carlos Bumba admitted that the trail still needs to be taken care of, so, within the scope of the Huíla Tourist Map, there will be tourist signage, which consists of landmarks that will direct people.
They will also level some areas, because the terrain is uneven and then there are also underground river currents, which during the rainy season, come to the surface and create small ravines that need to be revised.
When doing the trail, he recommended that tourists contact a tourism agency or tour guides to have contingency plans, to respond to health situations that may occur at the time.
In addition to the Mumuila trail, in Lubango there are four more already identified.
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