You already know I love all places with plane wrecks, but never been on a ship graveyard before! Known by locals as Praia da Santiago or Praia do Sarico, the 2.5km
stretch of beach is better known as Shipwreck Beach or Karl Marx Beach,
named after the biggest shipwreck on the beach.
Off shore and along this stretch of beach are dozens of rusting hulks of tankers, cargo ships and fishing vessels.
Many
legends have been passed along concerning how the large ships
mysteriously arrived there in local folklore, while some truly
interesting mercantile history and cold war history lies behind their
real stories as well. This surreal scenery was created in the 1970s. The disused ships of some bankrupt companies were towed to the remote
beach: Some say that prior to the construction of
the Port of Luanda, Santiago Beach was the spot where ocean-going
freighters would offload cargo bound for the country’s capital.
According to this narrative, the spot was not ideal and many ships blew
or were washed aground during storms or heavy seas. When the Port of
Luanda was opened after the end of the Angolan Civil War in 2002, the
ships that had run aground were simply abandoned, and over time, a whole ship graveyard formed.
The largest ship on the beach is an oil tanker of 70 meters called "Karl Marx". The indiscriminately scattered ocean liners date back to the 1960s and have been more or less affected by water, sun and tides.
The largest ship on the beach is an oil tanker of 70 meters called "Karl Marx". The indiscriminately scattered ocean liners date back to the 1960s and have been more or less affected by water, sun and tides.
How to visit:
This place is about 30 min drive from Luanda, so you can rent a car and go. But please don't go after dark, since there are many sights of tourists being robbed here. If you want to book a tour to feel safer, you have many options, since it's a popular destination in Angola's tourism.
Here is a link:
Happy journeys in Angola!
