Luderitz Highlights on Foot
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Port
Luderitz, Namibia
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Activity Level
Strenuous
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Excursion Type
Local Sightseeing,24,All
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At
$99.95
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximately 2½ Hours
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Meals Included
Meals not included
Lüderitz is an isolated town built on a windswept, rocky hillside beside the bay, and is located on the only part of the Namibian coast with a rocky shoreline. A peninsula with numerous coves juts out of the coast to form the bay. Three small islands -- Penguin, Seal and Flamingo Islands -- lie within the bay. Originally called Angra Pequeña (Small Cove) the city remained an obscure anchorage on the African coast until Adolf Lüderitz, a tobacco merchant from Germany, purchased the bay and the adjacent land in 1883, and the renamed town became the principal port for German Southwest Africa.
A 2-hour walk with your guide will take you through Lüderitz's quiet streets, past many German-style colonial buildings complete with domes, towers and turrets, steep roofs, oriel windows, embellished gables, bay windows and Wintergärtens (sunrooms), which provide shelter from the wind.
Visit the Lüderitz Museum to take in its flora, history, and ethnology exhibits.
Other notable buildings you'll visit include the Felsenkirche. The latter (the Church on the Rocks) is a German Evangelical Lutheran Church built in 1912.The stained-glass windows and the woodwork inside the church are quite impressive. The fine proportions of the church and its form represent the Vertical Gothic style, which was popular in the Victorian era.
Please note:
Wear comfortable walking shoes. Shade is limited; please dress accordingly. Bring a hat and wear sunscreen. Not advisable for guests using a wheelchair or for those with mobility limitations.