Windhoek

Ringed by the arid, thorn-tree hills of the Khomas Hochland plateau at 1,655 metres above sea level, Windhoek is the sun-drenched capital of Namibia and the launchpad for almost every overland journey across the Namib and Kalahari deserts. On the central ridge above Independence Avenue, the gingerbread sandstone spire of Christuskirche and the bronze-clad Independence Memorial Museum stand side by side, framing a complex history from pre-colonial hot springs and German colonial rule to modern Namibian independence.

Beyond its tidy central avenues and the Gibeon Meteorite Fountain, Windhoek's energy shines brightest over charcoal grills at Oshetu Community Market in Katutura and in classic outdoor beer gardens, while zebra and kudu roam the hills of Daan Viljoen Game Park just west of town.

Hosea Kutako International Airport (WDH) lies 45 kilometres east of Windhoek through acacia-dotted hills, receiving direct intercontinental flights from Frankfurt and regional flights from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Addis Ababa, Luanda and Victoria Falls, while smaller Eros Airport (ERS) inside the southern suburbs handles domestic bush flights. See getting to Windhoek and picking up a 4x4.

While the museum ridge and Independence Avenue form the daytime sightseeing core, most travellers prefer sleeping in the quiet, leafy valleys immediately east of the centre in Klein Windhoek, Luxury Hill or Eros, where hillside villas and boutique lodges sit close to the city's best restaurants. Compare areas in where to stay in Windhoek.

Pair Christuskirche, the Independence Memorial Museum, Parliament Gardens and the Gibeon Meteorites with the Namibia Craft Centre, join a guided trip to Katutura's Oshetu Market for freshly grilled kapana beef, and hike among giraffe and wildebeest at Daan Viljoen Game Park. Browse our top ten in things to do in Windhoek.

Windhoek is a carnivore's and brewer's capital: strips of seared beef dipped into chilli-and-onion spice at Katutura's kapana stands, air-dried beef and game biltong, grilled oryx and kudu steaks at legendary open-air institutions like Joe's Beerhouse, German Konditorei apple strudel and crisp Windhoek Lager brewed to the 1516 purity law. Read more in our kapana and beerhouse overview.

Known to the Nama people as Ai-Gams (Fire Water) and to the Herero as Otjomuise (Place of Steam) after the geothermal hot springs that once bubbled from its valley floor, modern Windhoek brings together Ovambo, Herero, Nama, Damara, San, Afrikaner and German-speaking Namibian communities under three hundred days of blue highland sky a year.