Africa-Press – Angola. The province of Namibe is rich in tourist sites. Namibe has tourism potential like few provinces in Angola. There are natural beauties such as beaches, Serra da Leba and Aguas Térmicas da Montipa, as well as the oldest desert in the world, the Namib Desert, places that attract foreign tourists and also boost domestic travel.
Among the various natural charms, the tourist attraction of Montipa stands out on the tourist itinerary. A landmark in the municipality of Bibala, 169 kilometers north of Moçâmedes, capital of the province of Namibe, it is an attraction for both national and international tourists due to its thermal waters. With an estimated temperature of between 10 and 15 degrees, the water born in these spas has its own characteristics, being pure, clear, odorless and even medicinal.
The place became a swimming pool, a source of therapy for skin diseases, rheumatism, foot inflammation and other ailments. At the fountain, if someone puts their hand in the water for a few moments, they could get burned, but when it flows into the pool, the temperature reduces considerably.
Access to Montipa
The trip can be made by land – road and rail, and tourists can enjoy the beautiful landscapes along the way, made up of beautiful forests and emblematic mountains. There is no one who travels to Namibe and does not want to visit the town of Montipa.
Going to Namibe and not visiting the Montipa Thermal Springs is like going to Rome and not seeing the Pope. Due to the high number of visitors to Montipa, the provincial authorities decided to adopt methodological measures, aiming to encourage the presence of tourist caravans linked to health.
The objective is to transform the place into a point of attraction for people who need therapy from the Montipa thermal waters, as the thermal water sources never dry up, unlike other places where drought has ravaged the southern provinces of the country. Incredibly, Bibala, particularly the Montipa area, has its source with plenty of water.
Bibala, a fascinating place
Bibala was founded on February 1, 1912, initially as a workers’ camp that served as support for the construction of the Moçâmedes Railway. On June 21, 1918, the civil district was created; it was elevated to a municipality on December 13, 1965. In the region, we find several historical and natural sites.
Rock engravings at Humpata Karaculo – present prehistoric features carved into the ceiling of the cave (rock shelter), which symbolize and testify to the presence of men who mark history in the region in focus.
Kapangombe Fort – Cultural and tourist space, it is the only place in the province that preserves a space, where slaves who rebelled against the colonist were imprisoned and who were later transferred to Moçâmedes, where they were distributed by boat to other countries and continents. Currently, Fort Kapangombe gave rise to the Kapangombe Technical School, with a boarding school available, which houses students from different parts of the country.
Serra da Leba – Tourist spot belonging to the municipality of Bibala. Inhabited, famous for its altitude, its architectural beauty and also for the national road 280, which connects the city of Lubango to Moçâmedes, it winds, containing a total of 56 curves. It constitutes an immense habitat for animal species and flora rich in varieties.
The Humbia Tunnel – Located in Serra da Humbia, on national road 282, is an obligatory passage for the train through the railway line of Caminho de Ferro de Moçâmedes (CFM), causing enormous darkness at the time of crossing.
Camucuio – Desirable destination
Camucuio is located 234 kilometers north of the city of Moçâmedes, has more than 60 thousand inhabitants, mostly farmers and cattle herders. With an extension of 700,452 square kilometers, the municipality has three municipalities, namely Cacimbas, Chingo and Mamue, limited to the south by the municipalities of Bibala and Moçâmedes and to the north by Quilengues (Huíla) and Chongoroi (Benguela).
The region has a dry tropical semi-desert climate, annual rainfall of 150 mm, with a temperature that reaches an average of 30 degrees Celsius. The inhabitants are distributed among different ethnic groups, with emphasis on the Mucubais, Nhanecas Humbi, Ovimbundu, Mucuisses and Mutchilengues. In this region we find several tourist sites.
Ndolondolo Thermal Stone and Water – Exotic place that features a stone that produces a peculiar sound that is different from other stones there. According to villagers’ tales, in times gone by the place served as a meeting point to perform rituals of greeting and gratitude to nature. In the same place, there is an enclosure with characteristics similar to a swimming pool that brings together the thermal waters of Ndolondolo.
Mulowei Dam – Place where water is concentrated, the result of the ingenuity of the communities, who circumscribe the site closed to the river landscapes to create a dam that benefits the population in the practice of aquaculture, livestock farming and other benefits that water provides to humans .
The Tchipopilo Tourist Complex – It is an area with paradisiacal natural characteristics and which brings together in its area a lagoon with peculiar rocks, given its specificity in terms of infrastructure compared to the presence of the tourist complex, which includes a vast yard with natural stones. Excellent place for recreation and excursions.
Serra Mundo Yo Vambo (Serra das Neves, translated into Portuguese) – The complexity of the geographical location makes it an excellent place for extreme sports (Alpinism). It may be the highest point in the municipality of Camucuio. The enclosure is one of the most important cultural points in the region, taking into account the presence of the people who live at the top of the mountain with the same name (Serra das Neves).
Rock Paintings of Tchipopilo – With two enclosures that present prehistoric features set on rocky surfaces in the open air that symbolize and testify to the presence of men who marked history in the region.
Virei – The land of the Sheep
The municipality of Virei is located in the province of Namibe. The municipality has 15,092 km2 and approximately 117,233 thousand inhabitants. It is limited to the north by the municipalities of Bibala and Humpata, to the east by the municipalities of Chibia and Chiange, to the south by the municipalities of Curoca and Tômbua, and to the west by the municipality of Moçâmedes.
Known as the “Land of Sheep”, due to the creation of this species on a large scale, in the municipality of Virei, it is home to a multitude of tourist sites. The press report highlights the rock figures of Tchitundu – Hulu , one of the most important signs of the existence of human life on the planet.
Tchitundu- Hulu Rock Rocks – They are in the eyes of the world through UNESCO, for their possible candidacy for world historical heritage. It has two enclosures that feature prehistoric features carved into the ceiling of the cave and onto the rocky surfaces outdoors.
Unmissable Places
Namibe is a province of Angola with a mostly desert landscape, it holds secrets of rare scenic and natural beauty, such as the exotic Welwitschia Mirabilis plant.
Pediva Hot Springs – The Pediva hot springs are a mystical lagoon with beautiful landscapes. There are reports that the waters of this lagoon have healing power for some diseases. Águas Termais do Pediva is a place with beautiful landscapes, with lagoons surrounded by rocks and with waters coming from the Curoca river. When you arrive in Pediva, the water is heated by the earth. There are two lagoons in the Pediva Hot Springs. The water in the larger lagoon has a lower temperature than the water in the smaller lagoon (Águas Quentes).
Namib Desert – It is, without a doubt, a place with many surprising corners and oases. It is one of the most important sources of humidity, which consists of mists and mists that come from the sea and, during the night, penetrate tens of kilometers inland: the waters of the Benguela Cold Current interact with the hot air and create fog – a fog that represents life because it contributes to the survival of the countless small creatures in the dunes. With an area of 310 thousand square kilometers, the Namib Desert extends to the Nammib-Naukluft National Park, the largest game reserve in Africa.
Ndelendele Stone – It is also an exotic place, which features a stone that produces a peculiar sound that distinguishes it from other stones there. It is a place where the people of the region, the Mucubais, used to exchange, sing and dance, expressing their joys and rituals.
Baía dos Tigres – Baía dos Tigres offers its visitors splendid beaches and interesting areas for sports, particularly underwater fishing.
O Arco – The desert region of Arco, located in the center of the province, is crossed by the Curoca river. This wetland of great beauty has untapped tourist potential and offers conditions for agriculture. The Arch has its peculiar shapes that characterize that territory and the role of the Curoca river in shaping the landscape, which is reminiscent of an oasis, is discussed. The natural accident is located on the north bank of the Curoca river, approximately 73 kilometers south of the capital of the province of Namibe and 24 kilometers northeast of the city of Tômbwa, in the southwest of the country.
Welwitschia Mirabilis – It is a species of plant with unusual characteristics that Friedrich MS Welwitsch (1806-1872), an Austrian naturalist serving Portugal in Angola (1853-1860), saw for the first time in September 1859, in the Namib Desert.
Morro do Soba – Records history with a certain mysticism, as the place in question pays homage to the soba of the region who, when moving from one location to another, stopped at a certain point along the way to rest as he suffered from extreme thirst and there lost his life. This area came to be called Morro do Soba and, it is traditional and customary for anyone visiting the place or passing through the area to throw a stone in order to guarantee protection during the journey, and depending on the frequency of people, if stones were piled up that gave it its name – Morro do Soba.
The old São Nicolau prison – Created in colonial times, with the purpose of isolating prisoners of conscience (politicians), the old São Nicolau prison was once seen as a torture stage, in which only heroes resisted, the Center underwent a metamorphosis political and infrastructural with notable investments from the authorities. It emerged in 1824, but was only made official as a prison center in 1974, in light of decree 68/74 of August 29, published in Official Bulletin no 201.
*Bibliography: guide on the main tourist products and resources in the province of Namibe, produced by the Government of the Province, through the Provincial Office of Culture, Tourism and Youth and Sports and its members.
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