Namibe, Angola Cruise Port

For an adventure in contrasts, sailing through the South Atlantic Ocean to the west African cruise port of Namibe, Angola ends with a cool, dry desert. The capital of modern day Angola's Namibe Province, the city of around 133,000 residents was officially founded in 1840 by the Portuguese. However, their explorers claimed the area more than half a century earlier and called the city Moçâmedes. Even though Angola got its independence from Portugal in 1975, the city of Moçâmedes didn’t shed its colonial name in favor of Namibe until ten years later. With the port continuously developing over the years, what started as a fishing port eventually added iron ore to its exports. Today, it’s one of the country’s busiest ports. With cultural places and a fascinating desert to explore – along with a plethora of wildlife – listed below are a handful of our favorite experiences when cruising to Namibe, Angola:

For some religious history, visit the Sé Catedral de São Pedro (Cathedral of St. Peter), which is dedicated to the diocese's patron saint. Established in 2009, it's an impressive structure where the large Catholic population can worship.
With the province having a long coastline, there are plenty of beaches, perfect for swimming, fishing, and water sports. Two of the most popular are Amélia Beach (Praia de Amélia) and Pipas Beach.
Get in touch with nature at the Namibe Special Reserve, which includes desert, hills, mountain peaks, and plains stretching to the coast. There are multiple species to view, including elephants, black rhinos, meerkats, wildebeests, and many others. There are birds on display as well, including pelicans, flamingos, and ostriches.
Exploring the desert itself involves such oddities as the Welwitchia mirabilis plant, also called the tree tumbo. Located only in Angola, the Namibe desert's unique climate allows this rare plant to flourish; it's thought to be one of the oldest living plants on the planet.

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