North of Namibia

Swakopmund is Namibia's main coastal city and one of the country's most fascinating destinations, renowned for its striking German colonial skyline that rises out of the desert right at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Founded in 1892 as a trading port during the German South West Africa protectorate, it preserves a remarkably intact Wilhelminian architecture: the Kaiserliches Bezirksgericht (former district court), the 1901 railway station, the Woermannhaus with its watchtower, and dozens of villas with decorative gables and white stucco give the town the appearance of a Bavarian village transposed into the African desert. The seafront and its pier — extending nearly 400 metres into the open sea — is the favourite gathering spot for residents and travellers at dusk. Swakopmund is also the adrenaline capital of Namibian adventure: quad biking and sandboarding on the Namib dunes just minutes from the centre, paragliding over the ocean beaches, kayaking among seal colonies at Walvis Bay, and night drives through the desert to spot scorpions and web-footed geckos. The Swakopmund Museum offers a comprehensive overview of the region's natural and colonial history, while the Kristall Galerie houses the world's largest quartz crystal (520 kg). Local gastronomy is heavily influenced by German cuisine: Kaffee und Kuchen in the historic town-centre cafés, fresh oysters and prawns from Walvis Bay, craft beer in the brewpubs. Swakopmund makes an ideal base for exploring the Skeleton Coast to the north, the Cape Cross reserve with its tens of thousands of Cape fur seals, and the vast Namib expanses stretching east.

Leaving behind the cool coastal climate of Swakopmund, your journey quickly leads into the rugged and expansive landscapes of Namibia’s interior. The Atlantic breeze gives way to dry air and wide-open terrain shortly after departure. A worthwhile stop can be made at Cape Cross, home to one of Africa’s largest seal colonies. Alternatively, the route via Henties Bay leads inland through barren plains and striking rock formations. As you move further from the coast, the scenery changes dramatically, with rugged mountains, dry riverbeds, and a profound sense of isolation shaping the landscape. A highlight along the way is the Brandberg region, Namibia’s highest mountain, known for its ancient rock art, including the famous “White Lady.” Entering Damaraland, the surroundings become even more raw and untouched. This region is renowned for its unique scenery, rare desert-adapted elephants, and impressive geological formations – a truly memorable destination. . Damaraland is one of Namibia's most spectacular and untamed regions, a vast desert plateau in the centre-west of the country inhabited by the Damara people and traversed by landscapes of rare primordial beauty. Red granite mountains, valleys carved by seasonal rivers, rocky canyons and endless plains succeed one another for hundreds of kilometres, forming a scene of silent grandeur. This land preserves some of Namibia's most extraordinary heritage: at Twyfelfontein lies one of Africa's largest rock art complexes, with around 2,500 engravings and paintings made by the San people up to 6,000 years ago, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. The Burnt Mountain and the Organ Pipes, near Twyfelfontein, offer striking geological formations — columns of black dolerite rising from the ground like petrified organ pipes. Damaraland is also one of the few places in the world where it is possible to spot desert-adapted elephants — a population that has evolved to travel dozens of kilometres in search of water along seasonal riverbeds — and black rhinos roaming free in their natural habitat. The region's exclusive lodges, often built in perfect harmony with the landscape, organise walking-based tracking of these large mammals with specialist guides. Palmwag, in the northern part, serves as the base for safaris across an enormous private concession. Damaraland is best explored in a self-drive 4x4 or as part of a Namibian circuit linking Swakopmund, Etosha and the north of the country.

Kaokoland — now officially named the Kunene Region — is one of the most remote and unspoilt areas on the African continent, a territory of volcanic mountains, dry valleys and semi-desert plains in the far north-west of Namibia, bordering Angola. This region is home to the Himba people, a semi-nomadic pastoral community whose women are world-famous for their distinctive aesthetic: skin and hair covered with a mixture of red ochre and butterfat, jewellery made from shells and copper, and clay-sculpted hairstyles. The Himba communities preserve ancient traditions, a still-functioning tribal structure and a spirituality rooted in ancestor veneration and the sacred fire. The lodges and tented camps of the region organise respectful visits to Himba villages, accompanied by local guides. The region's wildlife includes the desert-adapted elephants also found in Damaraland and lions that have adapted to arid conditions. Kaokoland is reached by 4x4 vehicles on unpaved tracks requiring off-road driving experience: the isolation is an integral part of the experience and one of the reasons this region remains among Africa's most authentic.

Epupa Falls is a waterfall system on the upper course of the Kunene River, on the border between Namibia and Angola, in the heart of remote Kaokoland. The falls — up to 37 metres high at their main drop and spanning around 500 metres in total along a stretch of rapids — plunge into a series of green channels set between tall Makalani palms and baobab trees, creating a surprisingly lush oasis in an otherwise bare and mountainous landscape. The name 'Epupa' in the Himba language simply means 'foam of the water'. This corner of Namibia is inhabited by Himba communities and a visit to the falls is often combined with an authentic encounter with this people in their daily life. Access requires a 4x4 vehicle on dirt tracks from Opuwo. Sunset over the falls, with the waters gilded by raking light and palm trees silhouetted against the sky, is one of the most evocative scenes in north-western Africa.

Etosha National Park is one of the great wildlife sanctuaries of southern Africa and Namibia's premier nature reserve, stretching across more than 22,000 square kilometres around a vast white salt pan — the Etosha pan — visible even from space. The name Etosha means 'great white place' in the Ovambo language, perfectly describing this ancient dried lake bed that, in the dry season, becomes the focal point around which the park's entire wildlife concentrates. Elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, wildebeest, zebras, oryx and the extremely rare black rhinoceros approach the waterholes in the morning and evening hours, making game drives here among the most productive on the continent. The park is divided into three main areas accessible from the official camps of Okaukuejo, Halali and Namutoni, each with a floodlit waterhole where animals can be watched at night from comfortable viewing terraces. Okaukuejo houses the park headquarters and an iconic waterhole frequented by black rhinos with remarkable regularity. Namutoni, at the eastern end, features Fort Namutoni, a restored former German colonial fortress dating from 1902, converted into a lodge. The vegetation alternates between mopane woodlands, open grasslands and salt flats along the edges of the pan, creating landscapes of stark, almost lunar beauty. The best season for wildlife is June to October, when rainfall is absent and animals gather at the waterholes. Etosha is accessible by private car or on organised safaris from Windhoek or Swakopmund, and is an unmissable experience for anyone visiting Namibia.

Otjiwarongo is a small town in the interior of central Namibia, set along the country's main north-south highway and used by travellers as a transit stop between Windhoek and Etosha National Park. Its name in the Otjiherero language means 'place where cattle grow fat', reflecting the pastoral traditions of the Herero people who inhabit the region. In the immediate surroundings lies the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), the world's most important cheetah research and rehabilitation centre, founded in 1990 by American biologist Laurie Marker: a visit to the CCF allows guests to observe cheetahs at close range, watch training sessions with Anatolian shepherd dogs and learn about the coexistence programmes between big cats and local farmers. Just outside town is a Crocodile Ranch where Nile crocodiles at various stages of growth can be seen. Otjiwarongo offers a reasonable selection of accommodation and restaurants for a transit stop, and is the most convenient starting point for reaching Etosha Park in around two hours by road.