Namibia’s great red dunes
The Highest Dunes in the Namib, and the Pan at Their Feet
Sossusvlei sits deep inside the Namib-Naukluft Park, where a dry riverbed runs out into a basin ringed by some of the tallest sand dunes on earth. The dunes glow a deep rust red at sunrise and fade to soft apricot by mid-morning, and the silence between them is close to absolute. Most visitors come for the climb, following a ridgeline upward for a view across an ocean of sand. Nearby lies Deadvlei, a bone-white clay pan studded with camelthorn trees that died centuries ago and never rotted in the dry desert air. It is one of the most photographed landscapes in Africa, and one of the few that looks better in person.
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A Landscape Shaped by Wind and Time
The Namib is widely held to be the oldest desert on earth, and Sossusvlei is where its scale becomes obvious. Sand carried north by the Atlantic current and driven inland by wind has been building these dunes for millions of years, and the iron in the grains is what gives them their red colour. The older the dune, the deeper the red. Days here follow the light rather than the clock: an early start for the climb while the sand is cool, the middle of the day spent out of the heat, and late afternoon for the drive back out as the shadows lengthen again.
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What Your Sossusvlei Safari Can Include
Dune climb at sunrise: follow the ridgeline up one of the great dunes for a view across the sand sea as the sun comes over the escarpment.
Deadvlei: walk out onto the white clay pan among the ancient camelthorn skeletons, one of the most striking sights in Southern Africa.
Sesriem Canyon: a narrow gorge cut by the Tsauchab River, cool and shaded, and an easy walk in the late afternoon.
Desert wildlife: oryx, springbok and ostrich cross the pans in the early cool, alongside the smaller creatures that live in the dunes themselves.
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Why Visit Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei is the image most people carry of Namibia, and it earns it. Where Etosha offers wildlife and Swakopmund offers the coast, Sossusvlei offers scale and quiet. It suits travellers who want a landscape they will remember rather than a checklist of sightings, and it photographs beautifully in the first and last hours of the day. Access is straightforward from the Sesriem gate, and it pairs naturally with the rest of a Namibia itinerary.
Sossusvlei Safaris With Africa At Heart
Include Sossusvlei in your private Namibia safari and greet sunrise on the great dunes. Tell us what you are dreaming of, and we will shape the journey around it.