Namibia

Namibia is one of Africa's least populated and most visually striking countries, where desert landscapes stretch from the South African border to the Angolan frontier. The Namib, the world's oldest desert, pushes rust-red dunes directly to the Atlantic coastline, creating a landscape found nowhere else on earth.

The classic Namibia road trip takes in the towering dunes of Sossusvlei, where the tallest sand dunes on earth rise above bleached white clay pans dotted with skeletal trees. Further north, Etosha National Park centres on a vast mineral pan that acts as a magnet for wildlife during the dry season, drawing elephant, lion, rhino, and cheetah to its waterholes in remarkable concentrations. The Skeleton Coast, a forbidding stretch of Atlantic shoreline littered with shipwrecks and seal colonies, has a desolate beauty. Namibia also boasts one of Africa's most captivating cultural landscapes, including the ancient rock engravings of Twyfelfontein, the surreal moonscape of Damaraland, and the remote Kaokoveld, home to the Himba people and desert-adapted elephants.

Highlights

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Sossusvlei: Climb towering rust-red dunes above bleached clay pans and skeletal trees for one of the continent's most iconic landscapes
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Etosha National Park: Watch elephant, lion, and rhino congregate around waterholes in dry season concentrations that make game viewing effortless
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Skeleton Coast: Drive a forbidding Atlantic shoreline of shipwrecks, seal colonies, and desert-meeting-ocean scenery found nowhere else in Africa
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Himba Villages, Kaokoveld: Visit the semi-nomadic Himba people, who maintain a way of life largely unchanged for centuries, for a genuine cultural insight
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Self-drive the country: Strike out independently on Namibia's well-maintained gravel roads, stopping at outstanding bush camps across vast and unhurried distances

Hidden gems

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Damaraland: Track desert-adapted elephant through ancient lava flows and seek out fine rock art at Twyfelfontein in this rocky wilderness
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Fish River Canyon: Hike the five-day wilderness trail through the second largest canyon on earth, one of southern Africa's most dramatic walks
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Kolmanskop: Wander the half-buried rooms of a former diamond town slowly reclaimed by desert sand, one of Africa's most atmospheric ghost towns
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Bwabwata and Mudumu National Parks: Explore lush riverine wildlife in the Caprivi Strip, a landscape quite unlike the arid Namibia most visitors see
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Stargazing in the NamibRand: Sleep under some of the darkest skies on earth in one of a handful of International Dark Sky Reserves, where the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye