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Sossusvlei: red-hot dune desert country
Of all the nights in all four corners of the world, the nights in Namibia are the loveliest. And not only because
of the fabulously beautiful lodges. The star-spangled sky plays its part too: a blue-black background strewn
with a galaxy of innumerable, glittering stars and − unique for the Southern Hemisphere − the scintillating
Southern Cross. Spending hours star-gazing is an incentive in itself. But be sure that you’re fresh and lively the next morning to discover Sossusvlei. The Namib Desert is generally considered to be one of the oldest
deserts in the world. This immense landscape of infinite grains of sand is about 100 kilometres wide and extends from north to south along the Atlantic coast of Namibia over a length of nearly 2000 kilometres.
This desert is a protected spot on Earth, and in the heart of this natural treasure lies a polished pearl called Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei itself is a clayey basin in the Namib Desert. It’s within walking distance of Deadvlei,
the dead, waterless valley where parched, 500 year-old trees silently stand witness to the advance of the dunes. For many visitors, the glowing red sunrise in Sossusvlei or Deadvlei is the highlight of an incentive trip
through Namibia.
Only at sunrise or sunset is the full extent of Sossusvlei’s legendary beauty truly revealed: an endless, light-green and yellow valley covered with a swaying carpet of tall grass, surrounded by softly glowing hills and flamecoloured, star-shaped sand dunes, with one flank set in shadow by the lowhanging sun. These are the cathedrals of the desert, which in Namibia can soar up to 300 metres high. The highest dunes in the world, ascending in one of the oldest deserts on Earth. A desert that stretches the entire length of the coastline, running from Swakopmund in the north to Oranjemund in the south of the country.
of the fabulously beautiful lodges. The star-spangled sky plays its part too: a blue-black background strewn
with a galaxy of innumerable, glittering stars and − unique for the Southern Hemisphere − the scintillating
Southern Cross. Spending hours star-gazing is an incentive in itself. But be sure that you’re fresh and lively the next morning to discover Sossusvlei. The Namib Desert is generally considered to be one of the oldest
deserts in the world. This immense landscape of infinite grains of sand is about 100 kilometres wide and extends from north to south along the Atlantic coast of Namibia over a length of nearly 2000 kilometres.
This desert is a protected spot on Earth, and in the heart of this natural treasure lies a polished pearl called Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei itself is a clayey basin in the Namib Desert. It’s within walking distance of Deadvlei,
the dead, waterless valley where parched, 500 year-old trees silently stand witness to the advance of the dunes. For many visitors, the glowing red sunrise in Sossusvlei or Deadvlei is the highlight of an incentive trip
through Namibia.
Only at sunrise or sunset is the full extent of Sossusvlei’s legendary beauty truly revealed: an endless, light-green and yellow valley covered with a swaying carpet of tall grass, surrounded by softly glowing hills and flamecoloured, star-shaped sand dunes, with one flank set in shadow by the lowhanging sun. These are the cathedrals of the desert, which in Namibia can soar up to 300 metres high. The highest dunes in the world, ascending in one of the oldest deserts on Earth. A desert that stretches the entire length of the coastline, running from Swakopmund in the north to Oranjemund in the south of the country.
Balloon ride over a sea of dunes
An ideal way to admire the area around Sossusvlei is a balloon trip at sunrise, where the ‘sky boys’ let you skim over the tops of the dunes and you can see the ‘toktokkie’ (black beetles with long, quick legs) spurt away on the sand ridges.| Next page > |
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