Huambo

Huambo receives its name from Wambu, one of the 14 old Ovimbundu kingdoms of the central Angolan plateau. The Ovimbundu, an ethnic group that originally arrived from Eastern Africa, had founded their central kingdom of Bailundu as early as the 15th century. Wambu was one of the smaller kingdoms and was hierarchically under the king of Bailundu, though it enjoyed a considerable degree of independence. Whereas Bailundo is mentioned in some 18th and 19th-century chronicles in connection to a trading route linking it with Viye (Bie), Wambu was only really known with the advent of the construction of the Benguela Railway by the Portuguese. …

Situated in the Angolan central highlands, Huambo is located near the headwaters of the Cunene River. The elevation of Huambo is 1,721 metres (5,646 ft) as it is on a high plateau. Huambo features a subtropical highland climate (Köppen: Cwb), with wet summers from October through April and dry winters between May and September. Despite its location in the tropics, due to its high altitude, Huambo features mild, spring-like temperatures throughout the course of the year, a characteristic common among cities with this climate. September is the warmest month with a mean of 21.0 °C (69.8 °F), and June is the coolest month with a mean of 16.2 °C (61. …