Huambo
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa, is the third-most populous city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 710,000 (2024) in the city and a population of 836,293 in the municipality of Huambo.
The city is the capital of the province of Huambo and is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. Huambo is a main hub on the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela (CFB), which runs from the port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's southernmost province, Katanga. Huambo is served by the Albano Machado Airport.
Getting to Huambo
TAAG operates flights from Luanda to Huambo (and vice versa) at least once a day. A one-way ticket costs in the range of US$160. Flights also arrive on a much reduced schedule from Lubango, Ondjiva, and occasionally other cities. The Huambo airport, Aeroporto Albano Machado, lies 3.5 km south of the city center.
- 01Long distance bus station
EN120 (2 km north-east of Praça de Independencia, on the other side of the train station.).
- 02Macon
EN120 Huambo-Caala (2 km north-west of Praça de Independencia.).
Worth seeing
- 01Praça de Agostinho Neto
- 02Jardim da Cultura
A 5-minute walk south-east from the Praça de Agostinho Neto is the Jardim da Cultura.
- 03Sé Catedral do Huambo
EN260.
- 04Jonas Savimbi
Ruins of the house of Jonas Savimbi, former leader of UNITA during the civil war.
- 05Paroquia de Fátima
Where to eat
If you're ready for a drink or a bite to eat, the immediate environs of the Jardim da Cultura provide several options. Otherwise, head eastward. First, you'll encounter several metals statues from the Portuguese era.
- 01Café Novo Imperio
Café with slow service but good cheap local food and fresh fruit juices.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.