Given a free weekend in Pointe-Noire, I decided I’d check out the city a little. While researching what to do, I read a few articles I came across on the internet. Most recommended going out to the beach, so naturally, that was my first stop.
Because of my impeccable sense of direction and French-speaking skills, I wound up taking about 30 minutes for what should have been a 5 minutes trip. The beach was literally a 5-minute walking distance from my accommodation. Only when I was faced with seaport and Immigration Officers did I realize that I was heading the wrong way!
But all is well that ends well, I found myself at the beach moments later.
Hanging out at Côte Sauvage, Pointe-Noire…
Except for a few photographers and children, the beach was practically empty when I got there. It was also very clean. I walked around a bit, watched people surf and tried to make conversations in ‘broken’ French. Then, I headed to the Yes Club restaurant to get breakfast.
After breakfast, I walked around some more and checked out a few art shops before heading back to the guest house. My colleagues had offered to take me to Les Gorges de Diosso, a canyon located just outside Pointe-Noire. We weren’t able to make it down the same day but we visited the following day.
The drive to the Diosso Gorges (Les Gorges de Diosso) was about an hour (maybe slightly less). We passed by a few villages and a beautiful road lined with several trees. My colleague told me they were planted a few years back by a private company in Pointe-Noire.
Les Gorges de Diosso…
We arrived at the Diosso Gorges – which was quite stunning and spent a few minutes admiring it from the viewpoint. There were a few locals manning entry into the area and we had to pay a fee to gain access.
They also told us we could pay for a guide to lead us down for a hike but we had to decline as it was quite late.
We left the gorges and made one last stop at another beach from where we could see the ‘Black Point’ – a place that inspired the city’s name.
From there, we headed to a local restaurant for dinner and an insightful conversation with a few other colleagues. And then, we called it a day.
Technically, this was 48 hours in Pointe-Noire but I could have easily fit everything into a single day. 🙂
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QUICK FACTS – CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE
Where | Central Africa
Capital City | Brazzaville
Official Language | French
Currency | Central African C.F.A (1$ = 585.38 CFA)
Population | 5.261 million (2017)
