Windhoek

• Independence Memorial Museum

  Opened on 20 March 2014, it tells the story of colonial rule on the first floor, the resistance on the second and the road to independence on the top floor. The glass lift up the outside gives a view over the city, and a statue of founding president Sam Nujoma stands outside.

  City of Windhoek: Independence Memorial Museum
• Christuskirche

  Designed by Gottlieb Redecker as a basilica with art nouveau touches and consecrated on 16 October 1910, it is the oldest Evangelical Lutheran church in Windhoek and a national monument since 1974.

  City of Windhoek: Christus kirche
• Tintenpalast

  The Ink Palace, built in 1912 and 1913 to designs by Gottlieb Redecker and the imperial building office, is now the seat of Namibia's parliament. Its gardens were designed in 1931.

  City of Windhoek: Tintenpalast in Robert Mugabe Avenue
• Alte Feste

  The fort begun in 1890 was a barracks and, in 1904, a shelter for women and children, then South African headquarters from 1915 and later a school hostel. It became the historical section of the National Museum in 1962 and has been closed for renovation since 2014, so check before you go.

  City of Windhoek: Alte Feste
• Old Location Cemetery

  Used from 1924 to 1960, opposite the older Gammams cemetery, it holds the mass grave of the people killed in 1959 for refusing to move to a new, segregated township. The grave has been a national monument since 2004.

  City of Windhoek: Old Location Cemetery
• Heroes' Acre

  The national memorial, inaugurated by Sam Nujoma on 26 August 2002 and designed by a North Korean team, lies between two hills. It has an eternal flame, an eight metre statue of the Unknown Soldier and a curved relief of the liberation struggle.

  City of Windhoek: Heroes' Acre
• Windhoek City Museum

  On the corner of Robert Mugabe Avenue and Schwerinsburg Street, it covers the city's story in galleries on pre-colonial and German Windhoek, life in the Old Location and the city today.

  City of Windhoek: Windhoek City Museum
• Windhoek railway station and TransNamib Museum

  The station was begun in 1912 and enlarged in 1929. Outside stands half of a Zwillinge locomotive built by Henschel in Kassel in 1900, which ran between Swakopmund and Windhoek, and the building houses a railway museum with a large collection of artefacts, photographs and records.

  City of Windhoek: Windhoek Central railway station

• Windhoek has been turning treated sewage straight back into drinking water since 1968, the first city in the world to do so, and the Goreangab plant has been running longer than any other of its kind. source
• When the city's boundaries were pushed outwards in 2011, Windhoek's town lands grew to 5,133 km², making it the largest city in Africa by area. Hosea Kutako International Airport now lies inside the city. source
• The 29 Gibeon meteorite fragments on the fountain in Post Street Mall come from a strewn field around Gibeon some 390 km long. Thirty three pieces were brought to Windhoek between 1911 and 1913, and four have gone missing since. source
• Kaiser Street, now Independence Avenue, was the first road in Windhoek to be tarred, in 1928. source
• Windhoek's Old Prison, built in 1906 and 1907 to plans by Gottlieb Redecker, held prisoners until 1963 and had only one successful escape in that time. One cell has been kept as it was. source
• In 1915 Windhoek had about 13,000 inhabitants, 3,000 of them white. source

Checked 7 October 2026.

• possibleAfrican fish eagleOn and around the lake at Avis Dam, on the eastern edge of townsource
• possibleGreat white pelican and greater flamingoOn the open water at Avis Damsource
• possibleDucks, grebes and red-knobbed cootOn the lake at Avis Damsource
• possibleHerons and wadersThe lake shore and the floodplain at Avis Dam. Numbers rise towards the end of autumn, when migrants arrivesource
• possibleMonteiro's hornbillThornveld and rocky hills around Avis Damsource
• possibleRosy-faced lovebirdThornveld and rocky hills around Avis Damsource
• possibleRockrunnerThe hills and rocky ground around Avis Damsource
• possibleAfrican spoonbill and great egretThe floodplain at Avis Damsource
• possibleEuropean bee-eaterAround Avis Dam. A migrant visitorsource
• possibleGiraffe and ostrichDaan Viljoen Game Park just outside the city, which has hiking trailssource

Likelihood is for a normal visit of two or three days, from the sources linked. Nothing is guaranteed in the wild.

• Avis Dam circular walk5 KM · EASY

  An easy loop over the dam wall and round the reservoir on the eastern edge of Windhoek, with single tracks into the hills if you want more. There are guards at the gate.

  Permit: Day entry paid at the gate

  Birdingplaces (Avis Dam Nature Reserve)
• National Botanic Garden walksEASY

  Self-guided paths through 12 hectares with a quiver tree forest, an aloe walk and a desert house. The surfaces are uneven, so wear proper shoes. The latest times we found (from 2015) were weekdays, plus a guided walk at 08:00 on the second Saturday of the month, so check before you go.

  Permit: Enter from the National Botanical Research Institute on Orban Street

  New Era (Visitors get chance to enjoy wonders of Botanic Garden, 13 November 2015)

Malaria

UK advice is that the malaria risk in this part of Namibia is very low, so bite avoidance is enough. The risk is high from December to April in Otjozondjupa, Omaheke, Kunene, Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena and Oshikoto, and all year in Kavango East, Kavango West and Zambezi, so take advice before you drive on. source

Street crime

Muggers target tourists in Windhoek, and attacks can be violent and happen at any time of day in the busy centre. Keep valuables and cash out of sight, use the hotel safe, and do not change large sums of money in public. source

Cars and taxis

Gangs sometimes try to get into cars at busy intersections, and theft from cars at fuel stations is common. Keep doors locked and windows up in traffic, never leave the car alone at a fuel stop, and book a taxi through your lodging rather than hailing one in the street. source

After dark

The City advises exploring in groups after dark and on weekend afternoons, when the streets empty, and keeping away from dark and deserted areas. Its visitor information offices on Independence Avenue and Post Street Mall can tell you which areas to avoid. source

Cards and ATMs

Use a well-lit ATM, do not accept help from strangers there, and never let your card out of sight when you pay. Card skimming happens. source

Leaving town

Accidents are common on gravel roads. In the rains, January to April, many gravel roads break up: keep to 80 km/h or less, carry two spare tyres and plenty of water, and check conditions before you set off. Do not drive outside towns at night, when animals and livestock are on the road. source

• Hosea Kutako airport is about 45 km out of town on a tarred road with no services, so fill up at the airport or in the city. If you arrive on an e-visa, make sure you join the right immigration queue. several sources
• Eros Airport, south of the centre, is a separate airport for light aircraft and charters. Luggage is not transferred between it and Hosea Kutako, and the change takes about half a day. several sources
• Many shops close on Sundays or at 13:00, so stock up for the road on a weekday or Saturday morning. several sources
• The Independence Memorial Museum opens Monday to Saturday and is closed on Sundays. Take the glass lift up the outside of the building for the view over the city. official
• The National Earth Science Museum on Aviation Road, with its Gibeon meteorites and fossils, gives tours on request only, and you need to book ahead with the curator. official
• Carry photo ID for police checkpoints in Windhoek, and ask before photographing government buildings: police have detained people for photographing the president's residence. official

Checked 7 October 2026. Conditions change, so confirm with the park or venue before you go.