Southern Region

You might want to hike with a guide in and around Africa’s largest canyon, Fish River Canyon, camping in its huge interior beneath star-strewn skies. You could ride on horseback through the world’s tallest dunes at Sossusvlei, watching the sun sink below their wind-sculpted peaks with a drink in hand. Or, visit the near-forgotten diamond-mining town of Lüderitz with its brightly painted German-colonial buildings. From here, explore the nearby ghost town of Kolmanskop to walk among the eerie silence of its long-abandoned buildings, which are slowly being buried by shifting desert sands.

While Southern Namibia may seem barren and lifeless, there’s ample wildlife to encounter. In the private NamibRand Nature Reserve, guides can take you out to see oryx, springbok, kudu, and Hartman's and Burchell's zebra dotting the plains, as well as giraffe, hyena, and 150 bird species. Meanwhile, at Sossusvlei, shovel-nosed lizards dart among the dunes and tok tokkie beetles leave tracks in the sand.