Namib-Naukluft National Park: Sossusvlei and Sesriem

Namib-Naukluft National Park is massive and spans 1,000 miles of Namibia’s Atlantic Ocean border. It encompasses the Namib Desert, Sandwich Harbor, Sesriem, Sossusvlei, and Naukluft mountain range. This guide will give you a run down of the Sossusvlei and Sesriem, and some of the highlights of our visit.

Dune 45 at Sossusvlei

Our first stop inside Sossusvlei was Dune 45. Best time to visit is in the mornings, as there are fewer people but a little cold. You can climb up the 170 meter dune and be rewarded with spectacular views. For those that are more of adrenaline junkies, you may opt to run down the side like Andrew did. As I mentioned in my Namibia page, Namibia is one of the driest places on the planet. You can really see it in the ground when visiting Sossusvlei at the end of the dry season.

Big Daddy Dune and Deadvlei

Big Daddy Dune is one of the most famous dunes in the park. You can climb this as well, but it takes much longer (around an hour) and you want to get started sooner rather than later so you don’t have to walk in the heat. Alternatively, you can enjoy it from Deadvlei. Big Daddy is twice as high as Dune 45, so it takes twice as long. We opted out of climbing and opted in for admiring it from below, in Deadvlei.

Big Mama Dune

Big Mama Dune is the other famous dune in Sossusvlei, but I’m not sure if you can climb up it. We didn’t see anyone climbing, and it is somewhat inaccessible. However, we stopped near Big Mama where there is a water hole, and that’s where we spotted wildlife. I don’t know how creatures live in such dry conditions, but they do.

Check out my post about our stay at The Desert Grace. I highly recommend staying somewhat close to the park, as it is a 5 hour drive from Windhoek. Our tour of Sossusvlei and Sesriem were operated by The Desert Grace, A Gondwana Collection lodge.

Sesriem Canyon

After lunch in Sossusvlei we headed to Sesriem. I didn’t know what to expect from Sesriem, as I didn’t do any research on what it had to offer. However, I was pleasantly surprised with a walk in the canyon. It is a deep, long canyon that Andrew ventured through to the end. I, on the other hand, stopped about halfway in the shade to appreciate the beauty.

If you don’t believe me, even Tripadvisor has these as the top sights in Sossusvlei!

Though travel to Namibia is hard right now, take this as inspiration when things loosen up.