Luanda
Luanda was founded in 1576 as São Paulo da Assunção de Loanda, making it one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. Much of the historic center was built in Portuguese colonial style. Since the beginning of the civil war in Angola in 1975, most white Portuguese left and some 2 million internal refugees came to the capital. As a result, the city is surrounded by large shanty towns, known as musseques. Don't wander into these shanties as it is very dangerous.
There are numerous places of interest in Luanda. Some of them include:
- There are numerous old colonial buildings in the center of Luanda.
- Palácio de Ferro.
- Fortress of São Miguel.
- Fortress of São Francisco do Penedo.
- The Roque Santeiro is Luanda's largest market, or cundonga, where fruit, food, local craftworks and masks can be bought.
- On nearby Ilha de Luanda are some food stalls, where fish is sold.
- There is a beach with freezing cold and dirty water.
Some of the most important churches are:
- Luanda Cathedral.
- Igreja de Jesus.
- Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Cabo.
- Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Conceição.
- Igreja da Nossa Senhora da Nazaré.
- Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Carmo.
There are numerous museums in Luanda, including:
- The National Museum of Anthropology has a collection of masks and other local artifacts.
- National Museum of Natural History.
- Museum of the Armed Forces.
- National Museum of Slavery.
- Arquivo Histórico Nacional.
Angola is a very expensive country for foreigners. Accommodation in Luanda is no exception. It is very difficult to find any reasonable food places apart from the expensive restaurants in the hotels. Nightlife is only accessible if you have local friends to show you around. Transport is fairly unavailable and very expensive and the roads are often in a bad shape.
Miscellaneous Information
Latitude: 8°49' S
Longitude: 13°13' E
Elevation: 59 m (194 ft)
Population: 8,500,000
Cost-of-living compared to Washington D.C.: n/a
Hours from UTC: 1
Daylight savings time: n/a
City phone code: 2
Country phone code: 244
Average Weather Patterns
| Temperature | Precipitation |
January | 25.8°C (78.4°F) | 2.5 cm (0.98 in) |
April | 26.7°C (80.1°F) | 11.7 cm (4.61 in) |
July | 20.8°C (69.4°F) | n/a |
October | 23.9°C (75°F) | 0.5
cm (0.2 in) |
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