Namibia
Namibia: Land of Vast Landscapes and Cultural Diversity
A hauntingly beautiful desert country with some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth and some of the best-organized wildlife tourism in Africa.
Namibia occupies the southwestern coast of Africa, bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Botswana to the east, Angola to the north, and the cold Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is a vast, sparsely populated country, the second least densely populated in the world after Mongolia.
That emptiness is part of its appeal. In Namibia, you can drive for hours through landscapes of extraordinary beauty without seeing another vehicle.
Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990, making it one of the last African countries to do so. Since then, it has developed one of the most successful and innovative approaches to conservation and community-based tourism in the world.
The communal conservancy model, in which wildlife management and tourism benefits are shared directly with local communities, has been credited with restoring wildlife populations to areas where they had been largely eliminated.
Why Visit Namibia
The landscape is the most immediate reason to visit. Namibia has a visual drama that is hard to find anywhere else. The Namib Desert, from which the country takes its name, is one of the oldest and most extreme deserts on earth. Its coastal dune belt, known as the Namib Sand Sea, contains some of the tallest sand dunes in the world.
The dunes near Sossusvlei, in the central Namib, change color from pale cream to deep red-orange as the day progresses, and the dead acacia trees in the cracked clay pan of Deadvlei create one of the most photographed landscapes in all of Africa.
The Skeleton Coast, the wild and foggy northern coastline, has a sinister reputation well earned by the ships it has wrecked over centuries. Today it is an extraordinary wildlife area, home to large Cape fur seal colonies, desert-adapted lions, brown hyenas, and black-backed jackals. The remote northern sections are accessible only by fly-in safari.
Etosha National Park is one of the best and most accessible game reserves in Africa. Unlike most other parks, wildlife at Etosha concentrates around waterholes in the dry season, which means you can set up near a waterhole and watch an extraordinary parade of animals come to drink without leaving your vehicle or moving at all. The park’s white salt pan, after which it is named, creates a surreal backdrop visible from space.
The Caprivi Strip in the northeast, now officially called the Zambezi Region, provides a completely different Namibia from the desert south. This narrow strip of land between Botswana, Zambia, Angola, and Zimbabwe is tropical and riverine, with excellent wildlife, including elephants, lions, and hippos, and a landscape of floodplains and channels.
Namibian Culture and Communities
Namibia has several remarkable indigenous communities that have maintained distinctive ways of life. The Himba people in the northwest are seminomadic herders known for the ochre and fat body paste that women apply to their hair and skin, both for sun protection and cultural identity. The San people (historically known as Bushmen) in the east are among the oldest human lineages on earth and have extraordinary knowledge of the desert environment.
Windhoek, the compact and pleasant capital, has a surprising number of excellent restaurants, a lively craft market, and a German colonial architecture legacy visible in buildings like the Christuskirche.
Travel Tips for Namibia
Citizens of most Western countries do not need a visa for stays up to 90 days. The official language is English. The Namibian dollar is pegged to the South African rand, and South African rand is also accepted everywhere.
Self-drive travel is extremely popular and well-suited to Namibia because the roads are generally good and the distances between attractions are manageable. The best time to visit for wildlife is May to October. Sossusvlei is spectacular year-round but is best visited at sunrise and sunset.