Angola

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Quick Facts

[edit]

Capital

Luanda

Government

Republic

Nationality

Angolan

Population

10,400,000

Languages

Portuguese

Religions

Indigenous beliefs, Christianity (Catholic, Protestant)

Currency

Angolan Kwanza (AOA)

Calling Code

+244

Time Zone

WAT (UTC+1)

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Introduction

Foss øst for Sumbe

© All Rights Reserved knaasheim

Angola is not exactly the safest destination in the world, despite the official end of the 25-year-long civil war in 2002. War certainly ravages a land and its people, as visitors to Angola will find. This is a destination for aid workers, not tourists.

That said, Angola has embarked on the road of recovery. When it finally becomes a safe option for travellers, the nation's cultural heritage will prove its greatest lure. Dance, music and art all emanate from a rich past and have helped shape the sights and sounds of the rest of the world.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

Angola is administratively divided into 18 provinces (províncias); Bengo, Benguela, Bié, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uíge, Zaire

Geographically the country can be divided into 3 areas.

• The coastal lowland is a relatively arid area rising from the sea in a series of low terraces.
• A belt of hills & mountains runs parallel to the coast, 20 to 100 kilometres inland.
• The high plateau to the east of the hills and mountains dominates Angola's terrain and are typically flat, rolling landscapes.

Cities

• Luanda - The capital
• Cabinda
• Benguela - Angola's second-largest city, but considered by many to be its cultural capital.
• Huambo
• Lobito
• Namibe
• M'Banza Congo
• Ondjiva
• Saurimo
• Lubango

Sights and Activities

Beaches

Angola boasts over 1650 kilometres of coastline, and travellers can find great beaches around Luanda, Benguela and Namibe. Thanks to a year-round warm climate, anytime is a great time to duck to the beach. The water on the other hand can be somewhat colder in the south, due to the cold Benguela current.

Kissama National Park

Kissama is one of Angola's best national parks, boasting a lively population of elephants, rhinos, water buffaloes and antelopes. Nesting sea turtles inhabit the park's coastal areas. Kissama is located about 70 kilometres south of Luanda, making it easily accessible. It actually functions as the only national park with some facilities for travellers, while others are still in repair.

Iona National Park

Iona National park is located in the southern Namibe Province of Angola, about 200 kilometres from the city of Namibe and the largest national park in the country. The park is known for unique flora and incredible rock formations and used to be a paradise for wildlife as well. Unfortunately, like many other parks in the country, many of the wildlife has been poached or otherwise destroyed during the Angolan Civil War.

Other sights and activities

• Tunda-Vala - A 2600km-tall volcanic fissure near Lubango, affording a spectacular view.
• Cavaco River valley - Near Benguela, the Cavaco River valley is a great place to appreciate African culture in one of the country's most densely populated areas.
• Cameia National Park - seasonally inundated plains that form part of the Zambezi river basin.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Although Angola is located entirely within the tropics, the climate is somewhat more pleasant and both altitude (inland) as well as sea currents (coastal areas) are influencing this more temperate situation.
In general, there are of course hot and humid conditions in Angola, especially in the eastern parts of the country where the land meets the Congo and Zambezi Rivers. This means temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius or more and mostly around 20 degrees at night.
More inland however, temperatures are somewhat lower, generally between 24 and 29 degrees Celsius, and dropping to around 12 to 14 degrees at night, a bit colder during the June to August wintertime. The latter months are also the driest. Most rain falls between October and April.
Although roughly the same applies to the coastal region, the southern part of the coast is much drier and has very arid conditions with only about 50 to 100 mm of rain a year. Temperatures during the day are the same, but at night are somewhat higher compared to the inland plateau.
Towards the northern coastal zone, temperatures and rainfall increases, with around 600 mm a year, about half of what falls inland.

Getting There

By Plane

TAAG Angola Airlines (Portuguese only) is the national airline of Angola and is based at Quatro de Fevereiro Airport (LAD) near the capital Luanda. International destinations from here include Accra, Addis Ababa, Bangui, Beijing, Brazzaville, Cabinda, Harare, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lisbon, Lubango, Lusaka, N'djamena, Namibe, Ondjiva (Namibia), Paris, Pointe Noire, Rio de Janeiro, Sal, São Tomé, Salvador da Bahia and Windhoek.

Several other airlines fly to and from here as well, including British Airways from London, Brussels Airlines from Brussels, Air France from Paris, TAP Portugal from Lisbon and probably KLM from Amsterdam at the end of 2008. Moscow, China and Johannesburg all have good connections as well.

Overland

The borders of Angola with most neighbouring countries are open now, but it is still quite an adventurous trip to travel along the roads to and from for example Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Border crossing with Namibia on the other hand is quite straightforward, but be sure to have your visa in advance. Crossings are between Rundu (Namibia) and Calai (Angola) or Oshikango (Namibia) and Santa Clara (Angola0.

Getting Around

By Plane

Cabinda, Catumbela, Dundo, Huambo, Luena, Luanda (Quatro de Fevereiro Airport), Lubango, Malanje, Menongue, Namibe, Ondjiva and Soyo are domestic destinations served by TAAG Angola Airlines.
There are also many other airlines like Air Gemini, Sonair SAL Airlines and Diexim Expresso which offer flights. Helicopter access to Cabinda is also possible.

By Train

Rail services are poor and tickets hard to purchase sometimes. Still, for enthusiasts there are trains running on three separate routes from Luanda. There is a line to Malanje (daily) with short branches to Dondo and Golungo Alto. Other lines include Lobito to Dilolo (the Benguela Railway, daily) and Namibe to Menongue (daily). There are no sleeping cars and no aircon, though food and drink is available on some lines.

By Car

Much of the tarred roads that existed are destroyed, but gradually being rebuilt. You will need a 4wd car though to get around most places and you can rent one in Luanda and the international airport. Note that it is advised to stick to the main roads (mines are still problem) and don't drive at night as car jackings can be a risk in some places.
A national driver's licence usually is enough, for longer stays an international permit is needed. Traffic drives on the right.

By Bus

The only useful long distance bus route is the 700km trip from Luanda to Benguela, taking around 9 hours. Three companies offer services between the two cities. Some erratic buses and minibuses, or shared taxis, ply some other usually shorter routes.

By Boat

Few regular passenger services exist, as there is almost no significant way of getting around by boat. Some options might include some boats just offshore near Luanda or on rivers bordering Namibia, but even those are of no use really.

Red Tape

Almost all national need a visa prior to arriving in Angola. Check the nearest Angolan Embassy for more information. It usually takes 3 or 4 days of processing.
Your passport needs to be valid for at least 6 months and contain two blank pages. Visas are valid for a maximum of 30 days.

Money

See also Money matters

Kwanza (AOA) = 100 centimos.
Notes in denominations of AOA100, 50, 10 and 5.
Coins in denominations of AOA100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1, and 50, 20 and 10 centimos.

Work

Study

Language

See also Portuguese phrasebook

Portuguese is the official language of Angola. African languages Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo and Bantu are spoken by most of the population.

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also Travel Health

Safety

See also Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to Angola is: 244
To make an international call from Angola, the code is: 00

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