Where to Stay in Windhoek, Khomas

What is Windhoek known for?

Windhoek is known as the capital and largest city of Namibia, gathered on the high plateau at the country's centre. Its landmarks trace the national story. Christ Church stands above the town, the Alte Feste keeps its old garrison walls, and the Independence Memorial Museum records the road to nationhood.

The National Museum of Namibia and the Reiterdenkmal sit close by, making Windhoek the place where the wider country reads its own past.

What are the main landmarks in Windhoek?

Windhoek holds landmarks that span its colonial founding and its independence. Christ Church crowns the centre. Its spire rises above the old town, where the Alte Feste keeps the garrison walls and the Reiterdenkmal recalls the colonial era.

The Independence Memorial Museum and the Three Heroes' Statues at the Parliament Building mark the country's road to nationhood, while the National Museum of Namibia, the National Earth Science Museum of Namibia, and the Trans-Namib Railroad Museum gather the collections of the capital.

What is the history of Windhoek?

Windhoek was founded in 1840 on the springs of the Khomas Highland plateau, at the centre of what is now Namibia. Water drew the first settlement. The perennial springs on the high plateau made the site a natural gathering point, and a colonial garrison later raised the fort that became the Alte Feste, still standing above the town it once guarded.

The town grew around that garrison. Christ Church went up in the colonial decades, and the Reiterdenkmal and the War Memorial were set nearby to mark the era. When the country moved toward independence, the Trans-Namib Railroad Museum kept the record of the line that tied the interior to the coast, and the Independence Memorial Museum with the Three Heroes' Statues at the Parliament Building fixed the memory of nationhood in the heart of the capital of Namibia.

The plateau town endured. Its stones hold the whole arc.

Where is Windhoek?

Windhoek lies at the geographical centre of Namibia, high on the Khomas Highland plateau within the Khomas region. The land is elevated and dry. The city spreads across a basin ringed by hills of the highland plateau, well inland from either coast, so that Windhoek sits on high ground at the heart of the country rather than on any river or sea.

What is the climate of Windhoek?

Windhoek has a semi-arid highland climate, dry and mild on the Khomas Highland plateau. Sunshine dominates the year. Warm days give way to cool nights on the high plateau, and the little rain that falls comes in the warmer months, when brief afternoon storms cross the interior of Namibia before the long dry stretch returns to the centre of the country.

How do you get to Windhoek?

Windhoek is the main point of entry to Namibia, reached by air from abroad and by road across the interior. Most visitors arrive here first. Flights land near the capital, and the highways and the rail line recorded by the Trans-Namib Railroad Museum spread out across the Khomas Highland plateau to link the centre of the country with the coast and the safari routes beyond.