Menongue, formerly Serpa Pinto, is a municipality and the capital of Cubango Province in Angola. The municipality had a population of 320,914 in 2014. It is one of the four municipalities in Angola whose inhabitants are predominantly Mbunda.
Understand
[edit]Get in
[edit]From Angola
[edit]By train
[edit]Menongue is linked to Lubango by a daily train (except Sunday). It starts at 7 AM. The cost in "Special" is 8.500 Kz (September 2025). The journey is about 12 hours.
From Namibia
[edit]By bush taxi
[edit]If you come from Namibia and cross the border at Katwitwi, you will first need to take a moto-taxi from the border to Hotel Katuitui, which is about 7 kilometers away (1000 Kwanza, September 2025). From there, you can catch a bush taxi to Menongue (18.000 Kwanza, September 2025). Bush taxis are limited, with at least one departing daily in the evening between 5 PM and 7 PM (but can be full. At least you can sleep at Hotel Katuitui). The journey is quite long and challenging due to poor road conditions. Only 4WD vehicles can manage the route, which takes around 9 hours: approximately 7 hours on a very rough bush track followed by 2 hours on a paved road. For this reason, crossing at Santa-Clara is usually faster and simpler. There is an ATM at the border that takes both International Visa and Mastercards. You can also change Namibian dollars around Hotel Katuitui on black market (ask local people).
Get around
[edit]The city center is quiet compact. You can easily walk.