National park
Namib-Naukluft National Park
Namibia's largest park: the red dunes of Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, Sesriem Canyon, the Naukluft mountains and Sandwich Harbour.
50,763 km² · 2 gates · 21 campsites · Run by Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT); camps run by Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR)
About the park
At almost 50,000 km², the park runs some 600 km down the Namib from the Swakop River towards Lüderitz, taking in granite inselbergs and gravel plains inland of Walvis Bay, the Kuiseb canyon, the Naukluft mountains and the great dune sea. Most people come for Sossusvlei: drive in from Sesriem at first light, climb dunes that top 300 m, and walk out to the dead camelthorn trees of Deadvlei before the heat builds. Wildlife is sparse but tough: oryx and springbok on the plains, Hartmann's mountain zebra in the Naukluft, with jackal, bat-eared fox, Cape fox, caracal and the odd leopard. Self-drive is the norm, with NWR camps at Sesriem and lodges outside the gate; the Naukluft has its own camp and an 8-day hiking trail, and Sandwich Harbour is visited with licensed tour operators. Only guests staying inside the Sesriem gate get in before sunrise, so everyone else starts with the sunrise queue.
Highlights
- Sunrise on the dunes around Sossusvlei
- Deadvlei's dead camelthorn trees on a white clay pan
- Sesriem Canyon, cut by the Tsauchab River
- Hiking in the Naukluft mountains
- Sandwich Harbour, where dunes meet the Atlantic
Good to know
- About 49,768 km², running some 600 km down the coast
- Dunes over 300 m high in places
- Tar from Sesriem to the 2x4 car park; 4x4 or shuttle for the last sand stretch to Sossusvlei
- Sesriem inner gate opens 1 hour before sunrise for guests staying inside
- Sandwich Harbour by licensed tour operators only
Wildlife you may see
- Gemsbok (oryx)
- Springbok
- Hartmann's mountain zebra
- Black-backed jackal
- Bat-eared fox
- Cape fox
- Caracal
- Leopard
- Chacma baboon
- Rüppell's korhaan
Sightings are never guaranteed.
When to go
Open: Sesriem: outer gate sunrise–sunset; inner gate opens 1 hour before sunrise and closes 1 hour after sunset for guests staying inside
Gates
- Naukluft Section GateOpening hours not confirmedPark permit required (Namib-Naukluft). 2026, per person per 24 h: foreign adults N$280, children 9–15 N$180; SADC N$180/N$100; Namibians N$60, children free; 8 and under free. Plus N$60 per vehicle (up to 10 seats). Camping at Naukluft Camp (Koedoesrus) is paid separately.Arrive before sunset; you may leave only after sunrise. The camp is about 10 km from Büllsport on a winding mountain road. The 8-day Naukluft hiking trail must be booked in advance through NWR in Windhoek.
- Sesriem GateOpen: Outer gate sunrise to sunset; inner gate opens 1 hour before sunrise and closes 1 hour after sunset (for guests staying inside)Buy a park permit at the office just inside the gate (N$ or rand; cards accepted but the terminal can fail). 2026 per person per 24 h: foreign adults N$280, children 9–15 N$180; SADC N$180/N$100; Namibians N$60, children free; 8 and under free. Plus N$60 per vehicle (up to 10 seats). Only guests of camps inside the gate get the early start.Buy your permit the afternoon before to skip the morning queue. Fuel at Sesriem is not guaranteed: fill up in Solitaire or Maltahöhe. Since May 2026, 4x4s may still drive past the 2x4 car park to Deadvlei and Sossusvlei; other cars use the shuttle (about N$200 pp).
Gate times change with the seasons: check with Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT); camps run by Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) before you travel.
Campsites
- Aruvlei Camp SiteCampsite4.4
- Bloedkoppie CampsiteCampsite4.7
- Camp TjeriktikCampsite
- Ganab Camp siteCampsite4.0
- Goanikontes Oasis Rest CampRest camp4.4
- Gobabeb Kuiseb CampCampsite4.1N$220 pp/night
- Homeb CampsiteBush camp4.7
- Kries se Rus Camp siteBush camp3.7
- Mirabib CampsiteBush camp4.6
- Naukluft CampsiteCampsite3.9N$460 pp/night
- Putte ShelterBush camp4.2
- Rock Arch CampsiteBush camp4.6
- Saddle Hill CampBush camp4.6
- Sesriem CampsiteCampsite4.1N$670 pp/night
- Sesriem Oshana CampsiteCampsite4.0N$560 pp/night
- Swakop River CampsiteBush camp4.4
- Tinkas CampsiteBush camp4.4
- Tsam Ost camp site #1Bush camp4.2
- Ubusis Hikers HutBush camp4.4
- Uri CampCampsite
- Vogelfederberg camp siteBush camp4.5
Park fees
| citizen | N$60 per person day |
| regional | N$180 per person day |
| regional (child) | N$100 per person day |
| international | N$280 per person day |
| international (child) | N$180 per person day |
| any (any) | N$60 per vehicle day |
Per 24 hours, bought at Sesriem; Sandwich Harbour has its own lower rates (foreign adults N$150, SADC N$100, Namibians N$50, vehicle N$50). Adults 16+, children 9–15; 8 and under free, Namibian children free; vehicle rate is for 10 seats or fewer; 'regional' = SADC nationals.
Places to see
- Deadvleinatural wonderBlackened camel thorn trees, dead for 600–700 years, standing on a cracked white pan below towering red dunes.
- Dune 45dunesThe classic sunrise climb: a sharp-ridged red dune right beside the tar road, 45 km into the park from Sesriem.
- Garub Wild Horseswildlife spotA viewing hide at a waterhole on the Aus–Lüderitz road where Namibia's feral desert horses come to drink.
- Moon Landscape and Welwitschia DriveviewpointA lookout over eroded Swakop River badlands, then a gravel loop to ancient welwitschia plants east of Swakopmund.
- Sesriem CanyoncanyonA narrow gorge the Tsauchab River has cut through conglomerate rock, a short drive from the Sesriem gate.
- SossusvleidunesA white clay pan ringed by some of the tallest red dunes on earth, at the dead end of the Tsauchab River.
- Ganab picnic sitepicnic spotDay-use stop by the Ganab waterhole on the open gravel plains of the Namib section.