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Travel Destinations Angola
Luanda (Capital of Angola)
-The fortress (containing the Museum of Armed Forces)
-The National Museum of Anthropology
-The Museum of Slavery, 25km (16 miles) along the coast from Luanda.
Luanda itself is built around a bay and there are bathing beaches (the Ilha beaches) 5 minutes from the centre of the city. Approximately 45km (28 miles) south of Luanda is Palmeirinhas, a long, deserted beach.
The scenery is magnificent, but bathing here is hazardous. Fishing is possible both here and at Santiago beach, 45km (28 miles) north of Luanda.
The Kissama National Park lies 70km (45 miles) south of Luanda, and is home to a great variety of wild animals. Accommodation is available in bungalows located in the middle of the park, but visitors must bring their own food. The park is closed during the rainy season. The Calandula Waterfalls, located in the Malanje area, make an impressive spectacle, particularly at the end of the rainy season.
Travel Destinations Angola
Luanda (Capital of Angola)
-The fortress (containing the Museum of Armed Forces)
-The National Museum of Anthropology
-The Museum of Slavery, 25km (16 miles) along the coast from Luanda.
Luanda itself is built around a bay and there are bathing beaches (the Ilha beaches) 5 minutes from the centre of the city. Approximately 45km (28 miles) south of Luanda is Palmeirinhas, a long, deserted beach.
The scenery is magnificent, but bathing here is hazardous. Fishing is possible both here and at Santiago beach, 45km (28 miles) north of Luanda.
The Kissama National Park lies 70km (45 miles) south of Luanda, and is home to a great variety of wild animals. Accommodation is available in bungalows located in the middle of the park, but visitors must bring their own food. The park is closed during the rainy season. The Calandula Waterfalls, located in the Malanje area, make an impressive spectacle, particularly at the end of the rainy season.
General Advice to travellers
Due to the civil war, internal security procedures are tight. Travellers should carry identity papers with them. Street crime is not a major problem in most Angolan towns, but armed robberies and attacks on travellers on roads outside the main urban centers are on the increase.
Angola has three main ethnic groups, each speaking a Bantu language: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, and Bakongo, 13%. Other groups include Chokwe (or Lunda), Ganguela, Nhaneca-Humbe, Ambo, Herero, and Xindunga. In addition, mixed racial (European and Africa) people amount to about 2%, with a small (1%) population of whites, mainly ethnically Portuguese. Portuguese make up the largest non-Angolan population, with at least 30,000 (though many native-born Angolans can claim Portuguese nationality under Portuguese law). Portuguese is both the official and predominant language.
CLIMATE In Angola
Angola’s climate varies considerably from the coast to the central plateau and even between the north coast and the south coast. The north, from Cabinda to Ambriz, has a damp tropical climate. The region that begins a little to the north of Luanda and extends to Mocamedes, the Malanje region, and the eastern strip has a moderate tropical climate. Damp conditions prevail south of Mocamedes, dry conditions in the central plateau zone, and a desert climate in the southern strip between the plateau and the frontier with Namibia. There are two seasons: a dry, cool season from June to late September, and a rainy, hot season from October to the end of May. The average temperature is 20C (68F); average maximum temperatures during the hot season do not exceed 26C (79F). The Benguela Current makes the coastal regions arid or semiarid. The annual rainfall is about 8 inches in the southwest, increasing to 80 inches in the northeast.
Like the rest of tropical Africa, Angola experiences distinct, alternating rainy and dry seasons. In the north, the rainy season may last for as long as seven months—usually from September to April, with perhaps a brief slackening in January or February. In the south, the rainy season begins later, in November, and lasts until about February. The dry season (cacimbo) is often characterized by a heavy morning mist. In general, precipitation is higher in the north, but at any latitude it is greater in the interior than along the coast and increases with altitude.
Temperatures fall with distance from the equator and with altitude and tend to rise closer to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus at Soyo, at the mouth of the Congo River, the average annual temperature is about 26C, but it is under 16C at Huambo on the temperate central plateau. The coolest months are July and August (in the middle of the dry season), when frost may sometimes form at higher altitudes.
Angola General Travel Information
TRANSPORT & GETTING AROUND
Air: International Flights
Air France
British Airways
Angola’s national airline : Taag Airlines
Taxis: Are difficult to find and are expensive. If you arrive at the airport you will need to arrange to have someone meet you or use a transport service provided by one of the hotels.
Train: The railway system is under repair, since the damage caused during the civil war. There is a regular passenger route from Lobito and Benguela to Luaubut unless you are traveling first class this is very basis, no sleeping cars or air-conditioning.
Bus:There are buses throughout the country but the service is poor and the buses are generally very crowded
LOCAL TIME
Angola is one hour ahead of GMT
BANKING AND BUSINESS HOURS
Banks: 08:00 – 12:30 and 14:00 – 15:00 (Monday to Friday)
Business Offices: 08:30 – 12:30 and 14:00 – 18:00 (Monday to Friday) Some are open from 08:30 – 12:30 on Saturday
Government Offices: 08:30 – 12:30 and 14:30 – 18:00 (Monday to Friday), 08:30 – 12:30 (Saturday)
Office hours are approximate and subject to change
Official Currency: 1 new kwanza=100 lwei
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Angola Overview
Angola lies in Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital is the city of Luanda (pop. 3.8 million). Other important cities are :
Huambo (pop 750,000)
Benguela (pop 600,000).
Angola is located on the South Atlantic Coast of West Africa between Namibia and the Republic of the Congo. It also is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the east. The country is divided into an arid coastal strip stretching from Namibia to Luanda; a wet, interior highland; a dry savanna in the interior south and southeast; and rain forest in the north and in Cabinda. The Zambezi River and several tributaries of the Congo River have their sources in Angola. The coastal strip is tempered by the cool Benguela current, resulting in a climate similar to coastal Peru or Baja California. There is a short rainy season lasting from February to April. Summers are hot and dry, while winters are mild. The interior highlands have a mild climate with a rainy season from November through April followed by a cool dry season from May to October. Elevations generally range from 3,000 to 6,000 feet. The far north and Cabinda enjoy rain throughout much of the year.
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