Must-see attractions in Botswana & Namibia

  • Herd of Springbok passing in front of a red dune in Sossusvlei, Namibia; Concept for traveling in Africa and Safari

    Sossusvlei

    Namibia

    Sossusvlei, a large ephemeral pan, is set amid red sand dunes that tower up to 325m above the valley floor. It rarely contains any water, but when the…

  • The dead Camelthorn trees in the famous Deadvlei are one of the Hotspots for Photographers all over the world.

    Deadvlei

    Namibia

    Although it's much less famous than its neighbour Sossusvlei, Deadvlei is actually the most alluring pan in the Namib-Naukluft National Park – it's…

  • Chapman’s Baobab

    Botswana

    About 11km south of Green's Baobab is the turn-off to the far more impressive Chapman’s Baobab, which, until it crashed to the ground suddenly on 7…

  • Kuru Art Project

    Botswana

    This fabulous art project provides opportunities for local artists (14 at last count) to create and sell paintings and other artwork; it’s worth spending…

  • Sesriem Canyon

    Namibia

    The 3km-long, 30m-deep Sesriem Canyon, 4km south of the Sesriem headquarters, was carved by the Tsauchab River through the 15-million-year-old deposits of…

  • Hidden Vlei

    Namibia

    This unearthly dry vlei (low, open landscape) amid lonely dunes makes a rewarding excursion. It's a 4km return hike from the 2WD car park. The route is…

  • Christuskirche

    Windhoek

    Windhoek’s best-recognised landmark, and something of an unofficial symbol of the city, this German Lutheran church stands on a traffic island and lords…

  • Jetty

    Swakopmund

    In 1905 the need for a good cargo- and passenger-landing site led Swakopmund’s founders to construct the original wooden pier. In the years that followed,…

  • National Marine Aquarium

    Swakopmund

    This recently overhauled waterfront aquarium provides an excellent introduction to the cold offshore world in the South Atlantic Ocean. Most impressive is…

  • Central Kalahari Game Reserve

    Botswana

    The dry heart of the dry south of a dry continent, the CKGR is an awesome place. If remoteness, desert silences and the sound of lions roaring in the…

  • Pride of lions drinking from a waterhole in Etosha National Park.

    Etosha National Park

    Namibia

    Etosha National Park, covering more than 20,000 sq km, is one of the world’s great wildlife-viewing venues. Unlike other parks in Africa, where you can…

  • Aerial view to bush of delta Okavango with elephant.
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    Moremi Game Reserve

    Okavango Delta

    Moremi Game Reserve, which covers one-third of the Okavango Delta, is home to some of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. Best of all, it’s…

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Africa; Barren; Drought; Dry; Extreme Terrain; Landscape; Outdoors; Weather; Arid Climate; Deep; Desert; Horizontal; Nature; No People; Remote; Scenics; Travel Destinations; Canyon; Fish River Canyon; Majestic; Photography; Namibia; Ravine;
Fish River Canyon in Namibia, the second largest canyon in the world

    Fish River Canyon

    Namibia

    Nowhere else in Africa will you find anything quite like Fish River Canyon. Whether you're getting a taste of the sheer scale and beauty of the place from…

  • Wet Lion cub (Panthera Leo) in Okavango swamp, Chiefs Island, Moremi National Park, Botswana
Chiefs Island, Lion, Moremi Wildlife Reserve

    Chief's Island

    Okavango Delta

    The largest island in the Okavango Delta, Chief’s Island (70km long and 15km wide) is so named because it was once the sole hunting preserve of the local…

  • Chobe National Park

    Botswana

    Chobe National Park is one of Africa's great wildlife destinations. Famed for its massive elephants and enormous elephant population, Chobe, which…

  • lioness in front of a 4x4 safari car crossing a dirt road in Kalahari desert, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana, Africa

    Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

    Botswana

    In 2000 the former Mabuasehube-Gemsbok National Park was combined with South Africa’s former Kalahari Gemsbok National Park to create the new Kgalagadi…

  • portrait of a lioness standing in the dry grassland of Khutse Game Reserve, Botswana, Africa; Shutterstock ID 220553704; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Khutse Game Reserve

    Botswana

    This 2500-sq-km reserve, which is an extension of the southern boundary of the CKGR, is a popular weekend excursion for Gaborone residents, but it’s still…

  • Twyfelfontein petroglyphs/ rock engravings.Namibia

    Twyfelfontein Rock Engravings

    Damaraland

    Twyfelfontein (Doubtful Spring), at the head of the grassy Aba Huab Valley, is one of the most extensive rock-art galleries on the continent. In the…

  • Spitzkoppe rock formation. Namib Desert. Namibia

    Spitzkoppe

    Damaraland

    One of Namibia’s most recognisable landmarks, the 1728m-high Spitzkoppe rises mirage-like above the dusty plains of southern Damaraland. Its dramatic…

  • Khaudum National Park

    Namibia

    Exploring the largely undeveloped 384,000-hectare Khaudum National Park is an intense wilderness challenge. Meandering sand tracks lure you through…

  • Bwabwata National Park

    Namibia

    Only recently recognised as a national park, Bwabwata was established to rehabilitate local wildlife populations. Prior to the 2002 Angolan ceasefire,…

  • Mandatory Credit: Photo by Fabian Von Poser/imageBROKER/Shutterstock (9362313a)..White Lady, famous rock rock painting in the Tsisab Gorge, Brandberg, Erongo region, Namibia..VARIOUS

    Tsisab Ravine

    Damaraland

    Tsisab Ravine is the epicentre of the Brandberg's rock-art magic. The most famous figure in the ravine is the White Lady of the Brandberg, in Maack’s…

  • Kolmanskop

    Namibia

    Named after early Afrikaner trekker Jani Kolman, whose ox wagon became bogged in the sand here, Kolmanskop was originally constructed as the Consolidated…

  • Nxai Pans National Park

    Botswana

    This 2578-sq-km park is one of the most accessible places to experience the salt pans that are a Kalahari speciality, although it's more about smaller…

  • Nkasa Rupara National Park

    Namibia

    Watch this space – this is one of Namibia's, perhaps southern Africa's most exciting national parks. In years of good rains, this wild and seldom-visited…

  • White Rhinoceros or Square-lipped rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), Khama Rhino Sanctuary Park, Serowe, Botswana, Africa

    Khama Rhino Sanctuary

    Botswana

    With the rhinos all but disappeared from Botswana, Serowe's residents banded together in the early 1990s to establish the 43-sq-km Khama Rhino Sanctuary…

  • Okonjima Nature Reserve

    Namibia

    The 200-sq-km Okonjima Nature Reserve is the epicentre of one of Namibia's most impressive conservation programs. Home of the AfriCat Foundation (www…

  • Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

    Botswana

    This 3900-sq-km park, the southern section of the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Park, extends from the Boteti River in the west to the Ntwetwe Pan…

  • Ruacana Falls

    Namibia

    At one time, Ruacana Falls was a guaranteed wonder, though all that changed thanks to Angola’s Calueque Dam, 20km upstream, and NamPower’s Ruacana power…

  • Rock art, zebra on a small outcrop, now used as the logo of Botswana's National Museums and Monuments, Tsodilo Hills, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ngamiland, Botswana, Africa

    Zebra Painting

    Botswana

    One of the most fascinating paintings is the zebra painting on a small outcrop north of Female Hill. This stylised equine figure is now used as the logo…

  • Namib-Naukluft National Park

    Namibia

    Welcome to the Namib, the oldest desert on earth and certainly one of the most beautiful and accessible desert regions on the planet. This is sand-dune…

  • Erindi Private Game Reserve

    Namibia

    It may lack the scale of Etosha National Park, but many travellers rank Erinidi as their most memorable wildlife-watching experience in Namibia. With over…

  • Phillips Cave

    Damaraland

    This cave, 3km off the road, contains the famous humpbacked white elephant painting. Superimposed on the elephant is a large humpbacked antelope (perhaps…

  • Messum Crater

    Damaraland

    One of Damaraland’s most remote natural attractions is the highly mysterious-looking Messum Crater, which comprises two concentric circles of hills…

  • Petrified Forest

    Damaraland

    The petrified forest is an area of open veld scattered with petrified tree trunks up to 34m long and 6m in circumference, which are estimated to be around…

  • Lizauli Traditional Village

    Namibia

    The culmination of a joint partnership between the owners of a one-time local lodge (Lianshulu, now closed), MET, private benefactors and the Lizauli…

  • Kuiseb Canyon

    Namibia

    On the Gamsberg Pass route west of the Khomas Hochland, Kuiseb Canyon contains the ephemeral Kuiseb River, which is no more than a broad sandy riverbed…

  • Living Museum

    Namibia

    The Living Museum is a unique opportunity in Namibia to interact with, and learn about, the San people, one of the oldest traditional hunter and gatherer…

  • Waterberg National Park

    Namibia

    The wild Waterberg is highly recommended – there is nothing quite like it in Namibia. It takes in a 50km-long, 16km-wide sandstone plateau, looming 150m…

  • Salt Works

    Walvis Bay

    Southwest of the lagoon is this 3500-hectare salt-pan complex, which currently supplies over 90% of South Africa's salt. As with the one in Swakopmund,…