Major Tourist Attractions In Namibia

Windhoek  was the former stronghold of the main opposition to German colonization. A modern city at an altitude of 11650m, its distinct colonial architecture shows the overwhelming German influence.

The center of the city has a major shopping center the administrative building and the main tourist centre with two fine museums, the State Museum and the Owela Museum housed in one in the oldest building in Namibia, the Alte Feste. 

Swakopmund is the favourite playground of Namibians and the country’s premier holiday resort. Its quaint German colonial buildings, palm trees and verdant greenery enhance the charm of this basically desert town. The town has numerous good hotels, pensions, restaurants and coffee shops selling traditional continental pastries and cakes while the coastline and desert offer great opportunities for some R&R. 

Swakopmund presents the holidaymaker with uncluttered beaches and warm waters good for swimming, surfing and fishing. Anglers can try their skill from shore or in the deep seas against local species that offer a real challenge, species like the kabeljou, kingklip, monk and sole.

Walvis Bay is a busy port on the Swakopmund, bordered by sand dunes with a large fish processing industry and salt works. It’s a tourist destination, particularly favoured for its bird sanctuary where 20,000 flamingo and other fresh water and coastal birds nest in the lagoon. Enroute is Bird Island, a favourite roost for coastal birds and a prolific source of guano for fertilizer.  

Luderitz is a town reminiscent of Bavarian hamlet with its quaintly pastel coloured houses, laid back ambience and slow lifestyle. Its clean, isolated beaches along the Luderitz peninsula are home to a variety of marine life. The Luderitz Museum is worth the visit along with other building like the Goerke Haus, the old train and the Concert & Ball Hall fine examples of German colonial architecture. 

The Namib Desert

The Namib Desert is said to be the oldest in the world and is an awesome place with its vast brooding desolate expanse, high dunes and bleak red sandscape. The Namib lies along the coastline and has extremely unusual features like the Skeleton Coast in the north, the Diamond Coast in the south and the spectacular Sossusvlei in the heart of the Namib.

 As the cold currents of the Arctic marry up with the warm temperatures of the African mainland, it creates pea-soup fogs so dense that early Portuguese sailors referred to the Skeleton Coast as the ‘coast of hell’ lying in wait to wreck unsuspecting ships. The Diamond Coast hides a rich underbelly of diamonds, such large deposits that it makes Namibia the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds. This highly mysterious coast is now the site of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. 

Sossusvlei is one of Namibia’s most spectacular natural wonders. Situated 400 km northwest of the canyon in the deepest heart of the Namib Desert is this enormous clay-pan, surrounded by high sand dunes. The sands of the Namib are a harsh red and the reddish dunes rising as high as 300m are an incredible and absolutely unforgettable sight. This part of the Namib was opened to travellers as recently as 1997, and naturalists, nature lovers and photographers travel here to catch the awesome play of colours. The rare times when the pan fills with water is even more inspiring for camera enthusiasts.

The Caprivi and the Okavango are the two main wetlands areas around the River Okavango and its delta offshoots, the Linyanti and the Chobe Rivers. It is an area rich in wildlife with riverbanks and lagoons full of a variety of birds and animals. The region has many designated conservation areas like the Khaudum, Mahango, Mamili and Mudumu National Parks, home to elephant, buffalo, hippo, lechwe, puku and many more. Just short rides from the Caprivi area but across the border are the impressive Victoria Falls.