Things to do in Lubango
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lubango
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, dry, clear and mostly in the 20s Celsius by day, with cold nights in June and July.
Festas da Nossa Senhora do Monte fill the month, so book hotels and drivers weeks ahead.
Shoulder months, April for waterfalls at best flow and October as the hottest month before the rains.
Rainy season, worst for escarpment views and park access, with March the wettest month.
What's on
- Festas da Nossa Senhora do Monte throughout August
Running since 1902, with the chapel procession, Expo Huila, the agro livestock fair, the Huila 200 km motor race and Miss Huila.
Best things to do in Lubango
Tundavala
The plateau ends in a 1000 metre gap, with layered cliffs and the best sunrise and sunset view in southern Angola.
Christ the King Statue
A 14 metre Christ above the city, worth it for the panorama that lays out the whole of Lubango below you.
Parque da Nossa Senhora do Monte
Lubango's hill park and chapel gardens, where the city itself spends Sunday afternoons and its August festival.
Cathedral of St. Joseph of Lubango
The Portuguese era cathedral anchoring the colonial centre, best seen in early light at the start of a town walk.
Huíla Regional Museum
The cultures of Angola's four southern provinces in one museum, and the context that makes a Humpata day make sense.
Serra da Leba
Angola's most photographed road, corkscrewing down the escarpment in hairpins from the viewpoint at the top.
Mercado Municipal do Lubango
The central market where the highland farms feed the city, busiest and best in the morning with small notes.
Estádio Nacional da Tundavala
The 25000 seat 2010 Africa Cup stadium, a drive past alone but the loudest night in Lubango on a match day.
Where to stay in Lubango
Senhora do Monte
scenery trips and the best all round base
Quieter, greener and higher than the centre, with the park, chapel and the best hotel and restaurant cluster.
Centro / Bairro Comercial
work, transit and budget stays
Walkable to the cathedral, museum, market, banks and supermarkets, livelier by day and quieter at night.
Mapunda
families, pool days and resort stays
A greener spread out suburb on the Tundavala side of the city, home to Pululukwa Resort and its grounds.
Think twice about
- Isolated lodgings on the unpaved periphery
No named Lubango neighbourhood is flagged as a no go base. Avoid isolated stays beyond the lit avenues with no reception, generator or driver, which strand you after dark.
Best restaurants in Lubango
Kimbo do Soba
A village style complex famous for game meats like crocodile, oryx and kudu, and a Lubango Sunday institution.
Café do Monte
A small owner run cafe for burgers, American style plates and good coffee, the favourite on the hill side of town.
Restaurante Katedral
The centre's consensus grill, where locals and expatriates agree you get the best grilled meats in town.
Restaurante dos Lagos
Dinner overlooking Pululukwa's lakes and grounds, the most polished kitchen and the best setting in Lubango.
Medara Nuno Batata
A big, busy local grill for fish, meat and cold beer at a long table, the most reviewed restaurant in the city.
Ombolo Yapia
A cheap central room for Angolan staples like funge and grilled fish, where Lubango itself eats at midday.
Restaurante Freitas
The old guard central canteen for a big Portuguese Angolan lunch at local prices, best at midday when busiest.
Cafe Vitamina
Fresh fruit vitaminas, juices, sandwiches and coffee, the light lunch pick in a meat heavy city.
Outdoor things to do in Lubango
Cascata da Huíla
Waterfalls and natural pools half an hour south of the city, and Lubango's default family escape on a hot day.
Cascata Secreta da Tundavala
A seasonal waterfall below the Tundavala rim, reached by a rough rocky descent and only worth it after rain.
Humpata
A cooler, greener plateau town with Boer graves, farms and small waterfalls, best walked slowly with a local guide.
Moçâmedes
The quiet Atlantic city at the foot of the Leba pass, reached by the great escarpment descent from Lubango.
Iona National Park
Where the Namib meets the sea, a vast recovering desert park of welwitschias, oryx and fog fed gravel plains.
Bicuar National Park
A vast plateau park 120 km from Lubango, rebuilding its herds after the war and best visited in the dry season.
Best hotels in Lubango
Pululukwa Resort
Lubango's best hotel, thatched units in big grounds with lakes, zebras, a pool, spa and a panoramic restaurant.
Hotel Serra da Chela
The grand hotel under the chapel hill, with a pool and a proper breakfast, walking distance to the park.
Casper Resort
Unfussy rooms, suites and apartments around a garden pool, the mid range pick long stay guests return to.
ibis Styles Iu Lubango
The international chain safety net in Lubango, reliably run by IU Hotels for a first night with no surprises.
Hotel Chik Chik Lubango
The central business hotel, walkable to the cathedral, museum and market at a step below resort prices.
Hospedaria S&I Freitas
A small guesthouse in the best neighbourhood from 35000 kwanza with breakfast, freeing budget for a driver.
Is Lubango expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | AOA 45,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | AOA 95,000 a person |
| Splurge | AOA 220,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Humpata: a few days ahead
- Moçâmedes: a few days ahead
- Iona National Park: weeks ahead
- Bicuar National Park: weeks ahead
- Pululukwa Resort: weeks ahead
- Hotel Serra da Chela: weeks ahead
- Kimbo do Soba: a few days ahead
- Restaurante dos Lagos: a few days ahead
- Book the driver and the Leba to Namibe run first, and book hotels and drivers weeks ahead for August festival month.
- Reserve Kimbo do Soba at weekends and Restaurante dos Lagos if you are not staying at Pululukwa.
- Arrange Bicuar and Iona days to weeks ahead with a specialist operator and hold a Lubango plan B day.
- Check your nationality against the current visa free list and carry a yellow fever vaccination certificate.
Is Lubango safe?
- Angola carries risks of crime, health problems, unrest and landmines.
- The highest-risk warning is for the Luanda greater metropolitan area, not Lubango.
- Medical services are limited and evacuation insurance is essential, and bring prescription medicines in quantity.
- Stay on paved roads and established tracks because landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a countrywide legacy.
- Ask before photographing people and never photograph security forces, checkpoints or military installations.
Lubango travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Cristo Rei is an hour combined with Nossa Senhora do Monte, not a standalone half day.
- The Leba deserves a morning and a slow descent to Mocamedes, not a 20 minute photo pull out.
- Waterfalls are season blind traps, with Cascata da Huila weakest late in the dry season and the secret falls possibly dry.
- The Tundavala stadium without a match is a drive past, not a visit.
Getting around Lubango: public transport and more
- Arrange a car and driver through your hotel before you arrive and agree each day's price and whether fuel is included.
- TAAG flies Luanda to Lubango Airport, about 10 to 15 minutes from the centre, so confirm a hotel pickup in advance.
- Walk the Centro cathedral, museum and market triangle by day and take a car after dark on poorly lit streets.
- Do not drive outside the city at night and do not descend the Serra da Leba in fog.
Who Lubango suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Lubango your trip
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