Windhoek
A highland capital at some 1,700 metres, German towers and a parliament called the Ink Palace in the centre, and private savanna reserves out towards the international airport.
- Arrival
- Hosea Kutako International · WDH
- To the city
- About 20 minutes to the centre by car
- Private jets
- Airport of entry at WDH, handler compulsory
- Best time
- May to September
The city
A capital that grew at a spring.
Windhoek began beside a hot spring used by herders. Jonker Afrikaner settled here in 1840, and in October 1890 Curt von François refounded it for Germany, laying the first stone of the Alte Feste. The Tintenpalast followed in 1912, and has housed the national Parliament since independence in 1990. Today close to half a million people live in the city, the largest in Namibia by far.
Altitude sets the climate. From May to September the days are dry and mild, from 20 to 27 °C, and the nights can drop below freezing. The heat builds from October, and the rains come in short bursts from December to April, peaking in February and March.
Arriving
Forty kilometres of open country.
Hosea Kutako International lies about forty kilometres east of the city, on a runway of some four and a half kilometres. Closer in, Eros Airport, a few kilometres south of the centre, is the busiest in the country by movements and handles smaller aircraft.
- Johannesburg 1 h 55
- Cape Town 2 h 00
- Lagos 4 h 55
- Riyadh 8 h 15 long-range jet
- London 11 h 10 long-range jet
When to go
May to September.
High and dry for most of the year. May to September is the clear season, with afternoons of 20 to 27 °C and almost no rain. From January to March the rains bring 70 to 85 mm a month, and summer afternoons reach 30 to 31 °C.
- 30° J 73
- 29° F 85
- 27° M 85
- 26° A 33
- 23° M 6
- 20° J 1
- 21° J 1
- 23° A 1
- 27° S 3
- 29° O 12
- 30° N 25
- 31° D 34
What to see and do
Days in and around Windhoek.
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Landmark
Alte Feste
The fort whose first stone was laid in 1890, now home to the National Museum.
-
Landmark
Tintenpalast
The Ink Palace, built in 1912 and 1913 and now the seat of Parliament.
-
Landmark
Independence Memorial Museum
The story of resistance to colonial rule and of the long struggle for liberation.
-
Wildlife
Daan Viljoen Game Park
Proclaimed in 1968, the park has trails of 3 km and 9 km among oryx, kudu, Hartmann's zebra and some 200 bird species.
Official site -
Wildlife
N/a'an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary
East of the city near the international airport, guided feeding tours visit lions, cheetahs, leopards, caracals and African wild dogs.
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Golf
Windhoek Golf & Country Club
Laid out in the mid 1990s on the southern side of the capital, the course has eighteen holes below the Auas Mountains.
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Culture
Christuskirche
Gottlieb Redecker's church was dedicated in 1910, built of local sandstone with a Carrara marble portico and stained glass given by Wilhelm II.
-
Culture
National Art Gallery of Namibia
Founded in 1990, the gallery keeps a permanent display of Namibian, African and European art alongside shows by local artists.
-
Culture
Heroes' Acre
North Korea's Mansudae Overseas Projects built this memorial, opened in 2002, with a marble obelisk, a bronze Unknown Soldier and 174 tombs.
Where to stay
A savanna reserve and a rooftop in town.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
The one fine table in town.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Namibia. Fodor’s calls this the most expensive restaurant in Windhoek and its only true fine-dining room; Lonely Planet makes it a top choice.
- Leo’s at the Castle Lonely Planet top choice Namibian and international $$$$ Hotel Heinitzburg, above the city centre
Elsewhere in Namibia
More reasons to come.
- Sossusvlei Red dunes among the highest in the world, and the dead trees of Deadvlei.
- Swakopmund German façades on the Atlantic, beside the desert.
- Damaraland Ancient rock engravings, and elephants that live in the desert.
- Skeleton Coast Shipwrecks and fog where the desert meets the Atlantic.
- Etosha A salt pan where the animals gather at the waterholes.
Flying to Windhoek?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.