Zaire River Mouth

In Soyo, in the far north-west of Angola, the Zaire river, known to the rest of the world as the Congo, reaches its end and flows into the Atlantic. It is the second-longest river in Africa and the third in the world by volume: at its mouth it pours out an average of more than 40 thousand cubic metres of water per second.

The Angolan bank is made up of channels, mangroves, beaches and fishing communities. On the other side of the estuary lies the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It was here, in 1482, that the Portuguese navigator Diogo Cão landed and raised a stone pillar (padrão) at Ponta do Padrão. The settlement that grew up became known as Santo António do Zaire, the old name for Soyo, and the feast of Santo António (Saint Anthony), inherited from the old Catholic mission, is still the town's biggest celebration. Ponta do Padrão can only be reached by boat, and it is worth going with a guide.

Today's Soyo is an oil and gas city, with terminals at Kwanda and the largest port on the estuary. To see the river mixing with the sea, your best option is a boat trip in the late afternoon, with the low light over the water.