5 Most Beautiful Places in Namibia

Namibia is a dream destination for nature and wildlife enthusiasts! The best places to visit are the incredible deserts and Etosha national Park for a safari. Namibia was the 11th country I've visited in Africa and the desert landscapes was unmatched! This stunning country has a rusted orange sandy landscape and a unique floral kingdom from the variety of plant species adapted to the harsh climate. Namibia will astound you with its wilderness and vastness. It's a dream destination for photography!

Facts

Namibia is the 15th largest country in Africa but has a population of just 2.5 million people, with 6% being white. Namibia was colonized by the Germans in 1884. Namibia has one of the lowest population densities in the world. For comparison Namibia is 1.6 times bigger than Spain and 2x bigger than California. Namibia has 30 languages that are spoken in the country, 11 native to Namibia. The official language of the country is English and 10% of the population speaks Afrikaans. The Himba tribe has been unaffected by modernization and still dress in their traditional way. They can be recognized by their distinctive red ochre body paint and intricate jewelry. Namibia has the world's largest desert and some of the highest dunes in the world. They estimate that 3000 cheetahs live in the country, the largest population in the world. Namibia prides themselves on their conservation of the black rhino. The model Behati Prinsloo, who is married to Adam Levine, is from Namibia and involved in rhino conservation. The Namibian Dollar is used interchangeably with the South African Rand so I didn't have to exchange money after leaving South African and entering Namibia.

This is the Quiver Tree Forest which has over 200 unusual looking quiver trees which is part of the succulent plant family.

Weather

I traveled to Namibia at the end of April 2023 which is considered their Fall season. The temperatures were between 73°F and 86°F during the day time and very cold at night. January and February are the hottest months. At night time, the average temperature is less than 50°F, so prepare for colder evenings and early mornings.

How to get there

Windhoek is Namibia’s capital city and where you will fly into unless you drive up from South Africa like I did. You can drive around and see the town in just a couple hours so I'm not including it in this list a one of the top 5 places to see. FlyNamibia airlines only flies within the region so your best bet is to fly to South African then transfer to a flight to Namibia.

Etosha National Park

Etosha National Park is a mix of semi-desert and savannah where you can take a safari to get up close to see elephants, black and white rhinoceros, lions, leopards, cheetahs, springbok, zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, hyenas, impalas, ostrich, oryx and warthogs. The park is 8,600 square miles and the name Etosha means the great white area in reference to the enormous flat salt pan. At night time the park has incredible stargazing as the clear, unpolluted skies make it a easy to see the Milky Way creating an unforgettable cosmic experience! The park creates watering holes for the animals to prevent them from suffering from a drought.

I camped in the park for 2 nights and this was my view.

I highly recommend watching the movie The Elephant Queen! It's a documentary that tells the journey of a family of elephants in the African savannah when they are forced to leave their waterhole. It explains how all the animals are connected with each other and how important water is to them. I learned so much from this about the circle of life in the animal kingdom that were never explained on my safari.

Skeleton Coast

The Skelton Coast is the area where Namibia's meets the Atlantic Ocean and is the world’s biggest gravesite for sailors and ships. It's a desolate and dramatic coastline dotted with eerie shipwrecks. Some of the Skeleton Coast is accessible by vehicle, but much of the coast requires a birds eye view so I took a flight on a Cessna to see.

Because of the dense fog and violent storms a large number of sailors have died at this coast in Namibia. Historically, it was nearly impossible to launch boats from the shore in this northern part of Namibia, and the only way out to the ocean was through a vast marsh, accessible exclusively via a hot and arid desert.

The New York Times wrote an interesting article on the Skeleton Coast.

I took a 2.5 hour flight on a 6 seater Cessna plane. The views were mind blowing as the Namibian desert is so unique and spectacular as you get so much diversity wit the landscapes!

Sossusvlei

Soussusvlei was the sole reason I went to Namibia! It is one of the world’s tallest sand dunes! These colossal sand dunes were a spectacular sight and the highlight of my trip! Each dune is numbered and I climbed up Dune 45 which is 1,300 feet tall! The view from the top was stunning!

After you climb the vast red dunes in a prehistoric river bed you head over to Deadvlei to see the dead trees in a salt pan. As you walk there you will admire the sparse vegetation and strange flora and fauna of this wild and beautiful spot. I even saw the Namib desert beetle. Deadvlei looks like something from another world as it doesn’t quite seem real.

Fish River Canyon

Namibia is home to the second largest t canyon in the world and a UNESCO site at 100 miles long. Researchers have determined that the canyon was formed at least 500 million years ago through water and wind erosion, coupled with the collapse of the valley floor.

Swakopmund

It's a quaint German seaside town set against whose foundation is sand since the dunes meet the sea. The houses downtown have colonial architecture and painted bright colors. The town is where you can book a lot of activities such as a the cessna flight I took. This small coastal town is famous for its surfing and flamingos (which I got to see).

There were security guards on the street to watch parked cars. The town closes at 5pm, everyone leaves work and goes straight home, only a few restaurants are open for tourists for dinner, otherwise the streets are a ghost town for people and cars in the early evening. It was explained to me this is a left over feature of apartheid where people are scared of being a victim of a crime. The State Department travel advisory rated Namibia a level 2 and says this:

Namibia has thousands of miles of unpaved roads. Road accidents, particularly on gravel roads, pose the most serious threat to visitors. Dress conservatively. Avoid walking alone, especially after dark, and displaying cash and valuable personal property. Make sure your hotel room or residence is well secured, including windows. Keep your credit card in your sight at all times while it is being processed. The police maintain checkpoints on major highways. Remain inside your vehicle with doors locked and open the window slightly to communicate.

I can confirm that we were stopped many times by police while driving on the highway and they boarded the bus to check everyone was wearing a seatbelt.