NAMIBIA

Country as beautiful as expensive, Namibia is able to offer both hiking in the desert to the highest dunes in the world, a rare flora and diverse fauna, from seals to the elephant through the flamingo

Identity card

• Capital : Windhoek.
• Currency : Namibian dollar.
• National day : March 21st.
• Jet lag: winter, add 1 hour compared toFrance in winter. No jet lag in summer.
• Official language : English.
• Main cities : Rundu, Walvis Bay, Oshakati, Swakopmund, Rehoboth.
• Religion : christians 90 %  (Lutherans 60 %, Catholiques 20 %, Anglicans 10 %); others 10 %.

Population

Population: 2,200,000 inhabitants.

Climate

The rains are very rare. The austral winter from May to October is the dry season when temperatures are pleasant during the day, at night they can drop below 10 ° C, especially from May to July. January to March is the rainy season short showers and a few thunderstorms come to refresh some Namibian climate, very hot at that time, with temperatures climbing steadily to 40 ° C.

Geography

The country borders with Angola to the north, South Africa to the south, with Botswana and Zambia to the east. To the west, the Namibian coast, consisting of the Namib Desert, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It is separated from the eastern plateau by the mountain barrier of the Great Escarpment.

Surface

824 290 km².

Highest peak

Mont Brandberg, 2 606 m.

Coastline

1 572 km.

Landscape types

The arid Namib desert, along the coast, is home to the world’s highest mountains and isolated dunes. In the South, the Fish River Canyon reveals a relief of bare rocks. Many sites, such as the massive red granite Brandberg or plateau Waterberg are decorated with rock paintings among the oldest ever recorded. In the Northeast, borderland of language with Angola, Botswana and Zambia is bordered by several rivers (Okavango Kunen, Zambezi).

When to go

The best season to explore Namibia is from May to October, during the austral winter.