Luanda information

October/November/December. Sunny weather but still not too hot. June to August is fresh (25 daytime/18 at night) and mostly foggy. The sun is hiding and the sea is too cold due to the Benguela current. "Raining season" is November til April but only few (heavy) rainfalls. That time also is the hottest with temperatures up to 37C and high humidity.

by Weltenkind

Luanda (formerly called Loanda) is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and administrative center. It is the world's most expensive city with a population of approximately 4.5 million (UN 2004 estimates), and is the capital city of Luanda Province. Luanda is located at 8°50'18" South, 13°14'4" East (-8.83833, 13.23444). (...) more....

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Luanda has just two touristic places: The old Portuguese fort and the small peninsula called "Ilha".

The fort is in bad conditions and just offers a beautiful view over Luanda, it's bay and the Ilha. Tourism (and service) is still not existing in Luanda.

The Ilha has a lenght of 7km and offers many restaurants, bars, discotheques and night-clubs. As everything in Luanda very expensive.

What else? The traffic is the most terrific thing. From 07.00 until 20.00 the city is congested. Average travel speed is 5 to 8 km per hour! Luanda was formerly designed for appr. 250.000 people. Today it is estimated 4-5 millions (no census since independence in 1975).

by Weltenkind

The currency is the Kwanza (AOA). Since 2006 very stable at an exchange rate of 75 Kwanza per USD and 115 per Euro. USD are commonly used as a second currency in many places. Credit Cards are only accepted in the big hotels.

Luanda is indeed the most expensive city in the world. As the city is overpopulated and does not offer any free spaces, the costs for property, renting and hotels exploded between 2004 and 2007. The economic growth and more and more foreigners lead to a run on houses. A normal house with around 160 square meters was 4.000 USD per month in 2004. Nowadays it has reached between 17.000 and 25.000 USD ... PER MONTH!

Prices are generally very high. The civil war destroyed nearly all productions in Angola. 90% of all goods must be imported. The port was not designed for such a huge demand an is constantly overcrowded. Ships must queue up between 1 and 3 weeks before entering the port. As a result prices are very high. A normal shopping tour in a supermarket easily reaches 200 USD. Price level is around 50% higher than in the US/Europe.

by Weltenkind

Luanda has many restaurants. Typical Angolan dishes are Funge, fish and beans. Mostly influenced by the Portuguese and the Brazilians. Since the Chinese came in large numbers there are also some good Chinese restaurants (Ilha).

Favourite drinks are Beer, Caipirinha, Whisky and Amarula/Baileys.

by Weltenkind

Angolan music has two unique styles: Kizomba/Semba and Kuduru. Kizomba and Semba are something between Salsa and Merengue. The slow form of Kizomba is called Tarachinha and is a very hot dance! These styles are very popular and a must for every party and discotheque. Kuduru is an Angolan invention and could be described as rap with a very fast and hard beat. Very popular in amongst the poorer population.

There are neither Angolan movies nor a remarkable literature.

by Weltenkind

The most important event is Carnival. For two days the whole city is going crazy. The main event is on the Marginal (the bay road); for sure not as impressive as in Brazil.

The second event is the Day of Luanda (25 of January). It's a public holiday and can be described as a small Carnival.

Another event is the yearly fashion show "Moda Luanda" in January.

The International economic fair "FILDA" is taking place every year middle of July.

by Weltenkind

Criminality is not much higher than in other places. But as a (white) foreigner you are much more a target. Following some rules should minimize the risk:
1. Don't walk, use the car
2. Don't attract criminals by showing jewels, etc. The most wanted thing for robbers are mobile phones. Don't show them and don't use them on the street.
3. Be always more alert than at home.

by Weltenkind

The biggest danger in Luanda is Malaria. But not comparable to other places in Western or Central Africa. Most foreigners living in Luanda do not take anything against Malaria. Visitors may do so but the risk is not too high because the Annopheles mosquito needs clean water (which is rarein this dirty city).

In some of the very poor areas Cholera is a danger.

In the provinces -especially during raining season- the danger of Malaria is much higher. Whenever fever appears make a quick test (around 1 hour) to exclude Malaria. Malaria which is not detected within the first days can be deadly.

by Weltenkind