Namibia Travel Guide

Namibia Travel: General Information

Namibia tourism can get as good as you can imagine, and at places even better. Namibia has it all – vast stretching deserts, coastal plains, mountains, rivers, canyons and a whole host of physical features. The contrasting landscapes of Namibia are not mere visual treats, they also promise you innumerable pleasure activities. Go sand gliding from the large sand-dunes of the Namib Desert or try cave-diving to explore the world’s largest subterranean lake, Dragon’s Breath. If the Etosha National Park provides excellent wildlife viewing, the Kavango and Caprivi regions are famous for bird-watching; again, there is enough scope for fishing in the coastal areas and river surroundings. There is much more to do – biking, hiking, canoeing, paragliding…

Namibia Travel: Key Facts

Capital city: Windhoek

Area: 825,418 sq km

Population: 2,088,669

Monetary Unit: Namibian Dollar

Official Language: English

International Dialing Code: 264

Namibia Travel: Popular Tourist Destinations

• Windhoek: Windhoek, the capital city surrounded by low hills, presents a perfectly picturesque setting. Windhoek’s pleasant climate is what brings people flocking here but the city is also ideal for doing some shopping. Make your pick from among the lovely local craft-items like hand-made wooden carvings, rugs or jewelry. Windhoek is famous for diamonds, semi-precious stones, the Windhoek beer and liqueur chocolates. Windhoek sightseeing attractions include its colonial period architecture apart from its natural-sites.

• Swakopmund: The beach city of Swakopmund is the summer-capital of Namibia. Frequented by anglers, beach-lovers and surfers, Swakopmund is now also becoming a favorite haunt of adrenaline junkies with attractions like camel-safari, hot-air balloon tours, sand-boarding and sky-diving. Swakopmund tourism includes visiting attractions like Swakopmund Lighthouse, the National Marine Aquarium, the Transport Museum and the Crystal Gallery. The city also attracts motley crowds with its bars and nightclubs.

• Other Popular Destinations: Namibia is full of tourist-destinations. While Walvis Bay’s attractions are its numerous adventure-sports/activities, Luderitz, away from the hurly-burly of modern life, is a must-visit for its nearby diamond-mines. Then there are Namibia’s numerous natural destinations like Damaraland, Ethosa Pan, Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei & Sesriem and the national parks with their flora and fauna.

Namibia Travel: Economy and Infrastructure

Namibia has an export-oriented economy dominated by the mining sector. Rich in natural resources, particularly minerals, Namibia’s chief foreign currency earnings come from mining/export of minerals like Gold, Silver, Tungsten, Uranium, Zinc, etc. apart from gem-quality diamond and semi-precious stones. Although agriculture is Namibia’s second-important sector and employs about half of the populace, it generates only a small part of the GDP. With arid conditions prevailing, cattle-farming has been more successful than crop-farming; no wonder that Namibia is forced to import food-grains although it exports dairy products, processed meat and fish as well as hides. Other export items include beer and soft drinks. A fast-emerging economic sector of Namibia is tourism.

Namibia is one of the richest countries of Africa and has excellent communication and transport infrastructure. With its small population and stable government, Namibia should have promised better standards of living to the populace had it not been for the menaces of AIDS, unemployment and unequal wealth distribution (most of the cattle/ostrich farms are owned by white-farmers). The government is mulling over various ways of curbing poverty by privatizing state-owned enterprises and inviting foreign investors.

Namibia Travel: Culture

Namibia is a multi-ethnic country that has been under different rules at various points of time. Before Namibia’s independence in 1991, the Namibian populace was subject to the apartheid policy of racial and cultural discrimination. Now that the grim days of apartheid are over, the Namibian government and people are working towards building a society based on awareness, mutual respect and understanding, side-by-side preserving their rich heritage. Top cultural agendas of Namibia presently are as varied as wildlife conservation as well as conservation of traditional tribal arts/crafts and colonial arts, etc.