Tundavala Gap

Tundavala Gap (Portuguese: Fenda da Tundavala) is a canyon on the escarpment of the Serra da Leba near Lubango, Huíla Province, Angola. The escarpment marks the western limit of the Humpata Plateau, part of the Great Escarpment of Southern Africa, and creates a natural boundary between Huíla Province and Namibe Province. The height of the rim exceeds 2200 m, while the plain at the base is approximately 1000 m below. The viewpoint at the edge of the cliffs, located roughly 18 km from Lubango, overlooks 10000 sqkm towards Moçâmedes.

Tundavala is a popular tourist attraction and an important geoheritage site. On 21 August 2012, the Angolan government named the gap as a cultural landscape. It is considered one of the 7 Natural Wonders of Angola.

Etymology
"Tundavala" is derived from the Nyaneka word Ntandavala, which has several meanings: “what was attached/shrunken and stretched”, “what is open/apart”, “the aperture” or “the space left by two sides".

Tundavala National Stadium in Lubango is named after Tundavala Gap.

Geography
Tundavala Gap is located about 18 km from Lubango, in the Huíla Province of Angola. It sits on the western edge of the Humpata Plateau, an extension of the Huíla Plateau, inside the Serra da Leba mountain range. It opens westward towards Namibe Province, overlooking 10000 sqkm northwest towards Moçâmedes.

At its peak, Tundavala Gap reaches a height of about 2200 m, and its cliffs are about 1000 m deep.