Tourism culture and History tour in Namibia
Namibia overview
unlimited space, vast deserts and annual quota of three hundred days of sunshine, in fact, these characteristics are the main attraction of one of the most fascinating destinations in Africa
Located between the Kalahari desert and the cold South Atlantic, the charms of this nation are well known in neighboring South Africa, not by Western citizens, whose discovery of its deserts, seascapes, forests and huge space has been delayed until dates Most recent. Endowed with rich natural resources, a solid modern infrastructure and a diverse amalgam of cultures, Namibia
stands out as a beautiful country with great potential.best time to travel Namibia
The winter dry season (May to October) is considered the most pleasant season to visit the country. It is preferable to avoid the national parks and Namib Etosha between December and March, when extremely hot. The period during which the tourist areas are more crowded place during the school holidays, both Namibia and South Africa, which often develop from mid-December to mid January, late April to early June and late August to mid-September
Namibia holidays and festivals
Day Maherero held towards the end of August, stands as a major event: the herero gather dressed in their traditional costumes Okahandja (a few kilometers north of Windhoek) in tribute to the fallen leaders in the wars against the Hottentot and the Germans. In October, a celebration similar happens in Omaruru (northwest of the capital), where herero pay tribute to his boss Zeraua. Independence Day on March 21, runs from banquets and parties throughout the country. Windhoek Carnival, which lasts for one week in late April, has a significant social as well as Küster Karnival in Swakopmund in August or early September, and the Windhoek Agricultural Show in September. The Oktoberfest, with beer and sausages to deal with is celebrated in a big way across the nation during the last days of October
best travel places in Namibia
Windhoek
The central highlands of Namibia is dominated by its small and typical German capital, Windhoek. Located at the geographical heart of the country, is the hub of business and operations of the nation, and it is the international airport in Namibia. Situated between low hills at an altitude of 1,650 m, has a refreshing mountain climate with wide variations in temperature and abundant rainfall. Rainfall allows the existence of lush gardens and spectacular flower beds. It has only 130,000 inhabitants, but the country's ethnic mix is reflected in every street.
The center is characterized by an amalgam of German colonial structures and contemporary buildings of pastel color. Dominating the skyline is Christuskirche, the German Lutheran church of Gothic and modernist. Other notable buildings include the Parliament (Tintenpalast); liming Alte Feste, an old fort converted into a museum and the train station of the Cape Dutch style, in the year 1912.
It is indicated for a place to visit on foot and walk Hofmeyer, which takes approximately one hour, including the forest near the Klein Windhoek valley, offering a beautiful view of the city. At the heart of the pedestrian area of Post Street sets 33 meteorites from the rain that occurred in 1837 in Gibeon in southern Namibia, and deposited 21 tons of rocks.
Etosha National Park
Etosha National Park is one of the best places on earth to enjoy the wildlife, and for many travelers is the only destination in Namibia. The western part is characterized by a savanna grass cover, leading in this direction, to a mixed forest. The soul of what form the Etosha Etosha Pan, a vast depression that salty background, only occasionally contain water. In winter months, the perennial springs attract large concentrations of birds, elephants, giraffes, lions, zebras and a few cheetahs and leopards. Other animals are also protected species such as impala in black face and black rhinoceros. After exceptionally rainy periods, the Etosha Pan of water level rises up to a meter and is visited by huge numbers of flamingos and pelicans who seek to feed their young and breed. The best time to see these animals around water points ranges from May to September.
Although it can be seen in Etosha trips a day, it is impossible to do what is necessary in less than three days. Most of the tourist chooses a minimum of two nights in one of three camps (Namutoni, Halali and Okaukuejo) separated by about 70 km and equipped with excellent facilities. Etosha is located over 500 km northwest of the capital. Tsumeb is located in the nearest commercial airport. It is also possible to take a bus or a train from Windhoek to Tsumeb, but then, travelers heading to Etosha be integrated into a circuit or rent a car, as there is no public transportation to the park.
Lüderitz
This population could be a surreal colonial relic, but a crowded Bavarian village in the arid and windy coast of the Namib Desert, where, apparently, the twentieth century has left its mark. It offers everything you would expect from a small German population, from sausages to Lutheran churches and cafes. Along the coast live penguins and seals, their desolate beaches welcome flocks of flamingos and ostriches. Lüderitz emerged as the area of diamonds, and its prosperity is obvious.
The prominent Evangelical Lutheran Church, Felsenkirche, dominates the city from the top of Diamond Hill and has some exquisite stained glass. Lüderitz Museum houses exhibits on the natural history of the population, the indigenous industry and diamond mining. Boat trips to the marine sanctuary of bears leaving the Cape of the jetty of the port daily, if weather did not prevent.
The city is located at any remote location. There are flights between Windhoek and Lüderitz several times a week. Keetmanshoop, the nearest major town Lüderitz, lies 425 km southeast of Windhoek. Though the train no longer runs the route between Lüderitz and Keetmanshoop (300 km east), the Trans-Namib Railway offers a bus service that covers this route.
Fish River Canyon
There is no comparable framework to the Fish River Canyon across Africa. Water has been expanding the gorge along the centuries, achieving a superb result. Despite its large dimensions (160 km long and 27 km wide), size in itself can not explain the appeal of the canyon. The views offered are amazing. The main tourist information center and is in Hobas in the extreme north of the park. Around this point there are picnic areas and camping, plus trails for hiking, since this site provides access to some of the most admirable viewpoints in the area.
Hobas since you can still walk the trail to Fish River Ai-Ais, at the other end of the canyon. The 85 km walk that takes in five days, followed by the sandy river bed. The route is only open from May to June, and must request permission in advance if it is within walking distance. It is essential to provide a sleeping bag, food and water, but it is not necessary to carry a tent, as it rarely rains. As might be a trip too, can take a day hike in the far north.
At the southern end is set Ai-Ais, a pleasant oasis of hot springs. Its water pipes led to swimming pools and Jacuzzis, are beneficial for rheumatism and nervous disorders. Ai-Ais has camping areas, bungalows and caravans. It has no public transportation to any of the ends of the canyon, but it is a very popular destination, you can make hitchhiking
Central Plateau
The central plateau appears as the major trophy of colonialism. In this superb farmland, Afrikaaners and German settlers who have inherited it from raising sheep and cattle ranches in rural or large cultivated citrus fruit and vegetables. The cities are well separated, and the main north-south road artery of Namibia, the B1, crosses the region. This road is shown in such a condition that leads the majority to appreciate too fast environment.
The small town of Rehoboth was founded in 1844 as a Rhenish mission, but twenty years later was abandoned to be resurrected in the 1870s by Basters (bastards), a mixed ethnic group (Hottentot-Afrikaans) proud of their history and culture. Reho Spa Complex is built around a spring and has an interesting museum housed in the 1903 residence of the head of the post office.
Brukkaros is a volcanic crater 2km wide, which can be seen from the B1 between Mariental and Keetmanshoop. Emerge from the car park a path that leads to its southern edge at half time and then it is feasible to enter it and continue up a research center left. There are no restrictions on camping, and the famous night skies Brukkaros to make it an unforgettable experience.
The crossroads of southern central Namibia up the Keetmanshoop, a city of fifteen thousand inhabitants and the center of the wool industry in the region. The town has more gas stations per capita than any other enclave of the country. Originally inhabited by the Nama, the Rhenish Missionary Society founded the city in 1866. Worth exploring the Museum of Keetmanshoop and the beautiful buildings from the colonial era. Organize tours to areas of interest in the south of the nation, including the impressive Fish River Canyon and Lüderitz.
Punta Caprivi
The close and unusual banda Caprivi extends eastward along the north-west, and separates Namibia from Zambia and Botswana. Has about 500 km long and is completely flat. Several rivers have been opened road through the area, including the Kwando, Chobe, Okavango and Zambezi, and populations have developed around them. Previously, the San (Bushmen), yet well represented, as the area roamed by nomadic hunter-gatherers, but now their way of life is totally sedentary. The region includes the reservation of Mahanga, among others, and also the more remote parts of the nation, Katima Mulilo, only 4 km from Zambia but 1200 km from Windhoek.
Caprivi is opening slowly to independent travelers who hitchhiking between Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, and the excellent condition of the roads have provided access.
Skeleton Coast (Coast of Skeletons)
Skeleton Coast welcomes area rivers Kunene Ugab and open to the Atlantic, but the name is often used to designate the entire coast deserted. The Skeleton Coast Park covers nearly two million hectares of sand dunes and gravel plains, and is among the most inhospitable arid zones of the Earth. Previously, the sailors who were shipwrecked and the current dragged the coast did not have any chance of survival. The mist floats in the air for much of the year, giving it a ghostly air. The National Recreational Area of the West Coast is made up of a coastal area of 2,000 km long and 25 km wide that extends from Swakopmund to the river Ugab. White is frequented by fishermen, mainly from South Africa, which proved lucky with perch, the Dambar, Denton and the other local species.
The Cape Cross Reserve may be considered more of a concentration camp than a sanctuary, where bears are farmed marine commercial purpose. Owns a slaughterhouse close to the cafeteria and some zones, but is open to visitors who can observe the colony without immutable lounging on the rocks. The skins are sold to the fur industry and the rest of the animal is transformed into a compound protein used to feed livestock. The Portuguese explorer Diego Cao, the first European to set foot in Namibia, erected in this place a cross of two meters in height as a tribute to their monarch. He remained standing for more than four hundred years until a German sailor was brought home in 1893. The following year they built a replica
Namibia activities
Most visited Namibia to explore the parks and nature reserves where they can enjoy African animals in their habitat. The varied landscapes and open spaces have excellent opportunities for trekking and hiking. Permits for multi-day hikes in the Waterberg Plateau, Naukluft Mountains, river Ugab and Fish River Canyon is extremely limited and must be applied with maximum advance, it will take a group of at least three people and certificate from a doctor Windhoek to ensure the good health and fitness of the applicant. In the parks and reserves travelers can enjoy the camping areas and the great outdoors. It is possible to practice river rafting and canoeing through some of the major inland waterways, including the Orange River. Also popular are the horse riding and equestrian tours are offered several days at various sites
History of Namibia
The first inhabitants of southern Africa were the San, a nomadic people organized in large family groups who could adapt to the most inhospitable terrain. Subsequently, the San were subjected to pressure from the Hottentot, a tribe that was devoted mainly to livestock breeding, and whose members are among the first potters. Gradually moved to the San, Namibia and dominated until around the year 1500 AD The descendants of both clans are in the country, but few have retained the traditional ways of life. Between 2300 and 2400 years ago, the first Bantus appeared in the central highlands of southern Namibia. His arrival set the first tribal structures in the societies of southern Africa. Other tribes either retreated to the desert or to the marshes of the Okavango Delta, or were enslaved by Bantu society.
Because Namibia has one of the most arid and inhospitable shores of the world, were hardly explored by Europeans. The first white visitors were Portuguese navigators in search of a route to the Indies during the last years of the fifteenth century, but were limited to erecting stone crosses at certain points along the coast as navigational guides. It was not until the competition for colonies hurried towards the end of the nineteenth century when Namibia was annexed by Germany, except for the enclave of Walvis Bay, taken by the British in 1878 to Cape Colony. In 1904, the Herero, cattle herders of Bantu-speaking, they rebelled against German domination, during two years of German troops sparked a war of extermination against the people. Similarly, in the South, a South African worker was discovered east of Lüderitz diamonds. The German authorities immediately called the entire area wedged between Lüderitz and the Orange River as sperrgebiet (forbidden zone). The German domination ended during World War I, when German forces surrendered to a South African expeditionary army that fought for the Allies.
At the end of the war, South Africa was mandated by the League of Nations to govern the country (then known as South West Africa). After the Second World War, United Nations renewed the mandate, but the organization denied the full annexation of the country to South Africa. No flinch, the South African government tightened control over the territory and in 1949 granted parliamentary representation to the white population. Most of the arable land in Namibia six thousand parcels were intended to finance the white settlers, while black workers and their families were confined by law to reserves.
Forced labor of the majority of Namibians from the annexation, was one of the main factors that led to mass demonstrations and the development of nationalism in the late 1950s. During this time various political parties were formed and organized strikes. Hacia 1960, la mayoría de estos partidos se había fusionado para formar la Organización Popular de África del Suroeste (SWAPO), que llevó el candente tema de la ocupación surafricana al Tribunal Internacional de Justicia.
Although the Court in The Hague did not take in the matter, in 1966 the UN General Assembly voted to complete the South African mandate and created a council to administer the territory. Simultaneously, the SWAPO adopted guerrilla tactics, but the failure of the organization to establish a government of South Africa facilitated access to the control of the new country. The invader had refused to negotiate a UN-monitored program for the independence of Namibia unless a quota of 19,000 Cuban troops were expelled from neighboring Angola. Accordingly, the SWAPO guerrillas intensified their activities, substantially restricting the movements in the north.
The economy was badly injured, and by 1985, South Africa also suffered an economic crisis and remained absorbed in its own internal problems. An agreement under the auspices of the UN ensured that the Cubans would leave Angola if South African troops were walking away from Namibia. In November 1989 elections supervised by the United Nations, SWAPO won with an overwhelming majority. In February 1990 a constitution was adopted and the following month was obtained independence under the presidency of Sam Nujoma. He was reelected in 1994 and embarked on a program of rebuilding the country based on the maintenance of a mixed economy and collaboration with the private sector. The president linked the Namibia dollar to the South African rand in March 1998. Towards the end of 1999, as part of a mutual defense pact, the government consented to Angola to attack the rebels from the UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) from its territory. A measure which was launched in Namibia on one of the worst civil wars in Africa.
The government's reputation suffered a blow in 2001. The president declared immoral and undesirable to homosexuals, and the prime minister said it was time for Africans to accept blacks as whites were part of the continent. Moreover, it was discovered that senior members of the armed forces owned interests in diamond mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Namibian forces were fighting rebel forces.
Although President Nujoma supported Robert Mugabe of appropriations by the force of white farms in Zimbabwe, the Namibian government adopted a more conciliatory approach to land reform, declaring that it would not allow illegal land seizures. It encouraged white farmers to benefit from land reform of 2002. The following year, it seemed that the strategy had been successful: it prevented 15 farm invasions when a union mozos tillage blacks reached an agreement with white farmers
Namibia Culture and People
The population of Namibia includes a minimum of eleven major ethnic groups, ranging from hunter-gatherers to farmers and inhabitants of the cities and the country still retains the influence of their colonizers and German Afrikaaners. 650,000 Ovambo are the largest group and live mainly in the North. Among the most important tribes are the Kavango, the Herero, the damaras, the Nama, the Basters and caprivinos. A less significant, the San (Bushmen), were in the past with their own system of territorial division and the early nineteenth century, were the architects of one of the pre-trading networks in the wider region.
While still an emerging literary tradition, music, dance and visual arts and architecture are part of local culture for a long time. The first Namibian musicians, the San, imitating the sounds made by animals, and their dances and accompanying tunes stories oral storytelling. The Nama used drums, flutes and string instruments, and Bantus, later, added marimbas, trumpets and ratchet pumpkin made from animal horns. The missionaries established religious choral groups. The Art of Resistance, which develops themes sober with showy colors and generally uninhibited, emerged first in the segregated districts of South Africa during the apartheid years, and rooted in Namibia is becoming an increasingly popular art, Among his most prominent authors include Joseph Tembo Masala and Madisia.
Each ethnic group has its own favorite food pantry. The basic dish is the Ovambo people mielie pap (porridge oats) or Mahanga (millet), also prepared in the form of porridge or soup. They tend to accompany fish, goat, lamb or beef stew. Pumpkins, peppers and onions are also part of their diet. The Nama, who live in the desert, have revered the pinchoso nara melon for tens of thousands of years, and its annual harvest is considered an event of great significance. Endemic to the desert, it is believed that the nara made human existence possible in the Namib. The Herero are staples of dairy products like curd and butter. European cuisine is represented mainly by the German-excited boerewors, a huge sausage farmer. The pastries, breads, cakes, fruit and cold cuts also come from the Germans. Among the traditional beverage, are the mataku (wine watermelon) and walende a palm liquor flavored vodka
Namibia Map
