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Surround Yourself in a Sea of Sand Dunes at Sossusvlei

Published by Kristin Cowles, Editor-in-Chief

Country: Namibia

The Experience

Sossusvlei is a salt pan in the center of the Namib Desert and a surreal image to behold as it is englufed by massive seas of red sand dunes. The starkness of the landscape is one that has been sought out by avid photographers from around the world for many years. Apart of an ecological reserve called the Namib-Naukluft National Park which spans 49,768 km², Sossusvlei is populated with lizards, snakes, and hyenas. Despite being one of the World's largest reserves to the Earth's oldest desert, only a portion of Sossusvlei is open to tourists due in part to conservation efforts, but also due to safety concerns around ill prepared travelers. Sossusvlei is only open for deeper exploration on full scale excursions. Undoubtedly the most beautiful site to see while on a visit to Sossusvlei is the view from the top of Dune 45 at sunrise.

Photos

Map

Puzzle

When to Go to Sossusvlei

Permits are required to travel in the Namib-Naukluft National Park and can be acquired in Sesriem, this is also the closest location to stay nearest to Sossusvlei. From Sesriem it is about an hour and a half drive to the dunes, or approximately 60km. Permits can also be picked up in Swakopmund or Walvis Bay if traveling from the west. Other sights to consider while in the area are The Dead Vlei and Hidden Vlei clay pans near Sossusvlei.

Want a Guide?

Cape and Dunes Discoverer - GAP Adventures
Namibia is a nature and adventure lover's dream. The world's highest sand dunes, deep canyons, exciting activities, breathtaking scenery and some game viewing combine for a memorable journey.

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Books and DVDs

Botswana and Namibia Travel Guide - Lonely Planet.com
Today, Botswana and Namibia are still two of Africa's hidden secrets; the oldest rust-red desert in the world, a popularly imagined wilderness of teeming wildlife preternaturally blue skies and silent spaces. But this is barely half the picture, for these days Botswana and Namibia are two of Africa's model nations, no longer frontier territories but modern, mineral rich economies at the vanguard of continent's future.
Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2009: 850 Trends, Destinations, Journeys & Experiences for the Year Ahead
Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips (Hardcover)
No one knows the world like National Geographic—and in this lavish volume, we reveal our picks for the world's most fabulous journeys, along with helpful information for readers who want to try them out.

Elsewhere on the Web

Sossusvlei - Wikitravel.org
Sossusvlei is a common tourist destination in the southern part of the Namib Desert, Namibia. The word "vlei" is an Afrikaans word that means "marsh" and Sossusvlei is in a small valley between the dunes which sometimes gets snow!
Travel Report Namibia - Voyages.gc.ca
TRAVEL WARNINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
Sossusvlei / Sesriem Namib Naukluft Park
The Sossusvlei, Namibia's famous highlight in the heart of the Namib Desert, is a huge clay pan, enclosed by giant sand dunes. Some of the spectacular hills of sand are, at a height of 300 metres, the highest in the world.
Sossusvlei - Gigapan.org
This panorama was made in April 2000 with an analogue Pentax SLR, taking only 8 photos and without tripod. I had the photos enlarged and scanned them.

Media References

Just the Basics on a Truck Safari - NY Times.com (newspaper)
WE have come to Etosha National Park in northern Namibia in September, during its punishing dry season, and as our truck halts at one of the few watering holes to survive the rainless days and the heat, I hear the excited sighs of my two dozen companions. The stark contrasts and vividness of the scenery awe us:
Creature Comforts For Homo Sapiens - NY Times.com (newspaper)
FROM Kenya to South Africa, safaris are such big business in Africa that animal and bird lovers can be found in every park, game reserve and conservation area -- no matter the intense heat, the dust that seems to creep into every crevice, the back-destroying rutted roads.
Swakopmund Dune Fields, Namibia, 2000 - National Geographic.com (magazine)
Wind-sculpted dunes sprawl across the Sesriem and Sossusvlei dune area in Namibia's Namib Desert. The Namib is a cool, coastal desert that roughly translates to "an area where there is nothing" in the Nama language.
Namibia: Lions, Lodges, and Bikes - National Geographic.com (magazine)
As trip planner Brad Crockett explains, "Guests see a region of the world still radiating a prehistoric existence." A trip standout is the sunrise hike to the dunes of Sossusvlei, situated in one of the planet's oldest and driest ecosystems, followed by a 40-mile (64-kilometer) bike ride on a road through shifting sands. "You're biking in places where literally no one has ridden," Crockett says. "Locals will think we're nuts."
Lure of Namibia (newspaper)
As the first rays of the sun pierce the thick darkness of the Namibian desert, sinuous ridges of quartz sand ignite in a firestorm of seared orange. Then the sky lightens to the new day, revealing the sea of sand mountains, their crisp edges and perfect curves wrought and polished by the expert chisel of the Kalahari and Atlantic winds.

Language Guides

Portugese is one of the languages spoken in Namibia. If you know of a freely available phrase book or podcast for one of the missing languages, let us know!

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