Travel to Damaraland North

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Damaraland North

is an awesome desert area

in northwest Namibia

the Hoanib Valley is one of our favourite locations in Africa

Set in the northwest of Namibia, Damaraland North is a fabulous area of awesome desert scenery, unusually strong wildlife and superb remote lodges.

If you could only visit one part of the country, this would have to be the one. We happily spend weeks up here in our spare time.

North of the popular self-drive location of Twyfelfontein, the volume of self-drive vehicles falls away dramatically and the landscapes become a lot more wild.

The main dirt road climbs to a plateau of shattered red basalt, the Etendeka Mountains. The few remote waterholes in this arid landscape are sufficient to sustain surprisingly good populations of wildlife, including elephants, black rhinos, dusky giraffes, mountain zebras, kudus and even lions. In fact the wildlife viewing around here can be really superb and the landscapes are certainly hypnotic.

Moving further north we encounter the Hoanib River, whose subterranean waters provide a ribbon of greenery through the desert landscapes. This magical hidden valley is where BBC Wildlife comes to film desert elephants, lions and giraffes.

The primary activity is vehicle safari, whether looking for animals or simply travelling through these wonderful landscapes. But this is also a truly great area for walking safari and hiking, as well as being the best place in Africa to track rare black rhinos on foot.

North of Twyfelfontein the volume of self-drive vehicles falls away dramatically and the landscapes become a lot more wild.

The road climbs to a plateau of shattered red basalt, centred on the superb Palmwag Concession.

The few remote waterholes in this arid landscape are sufficient to sustain good populations of wildlife.

In fact the wildlife viewing around here can be really superb and the landscapes are certainly hypnotic.

Moving further north we encounter the Hoanib River, whose subterranean waters provide a ribbon of greenery through the desert landscapes.

This is where BBC Wildlife comes to film desert elephants, lions and giraffes.

The primary activity is vehicle safari, whether looking for animals or journeying from place to place.

But this is also a truly great area for walking safari and hiking.

Along the main dirt road that traverses this region lie a number of modestly attractive and lower cost lodges for self-drivers.

But to experience the area properly it is best to fly into in remote lodges out on the vast private concessions.

Or travel cross country on a private guided expedition, bivouac camping at spectacularly remote and beautiful locations.

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Map

Despite being the best safari area in Namibia by a distance, Damaraland North unfortunately features in a relatively low proportion of trips, largely due to its accessibility and high cost.

The usual stay duration is 3-6 nights.

Seasonality

The climate in Damaraland North follows the usual pattern for this part of the world, with a long dry season Apr-Dec and a short green season Jan-Mar.

However, being closer to the coast, the area experiences even less rainfall than further inland, so the seasonality is a lot less pronounced and safari conditions are pretty favourable year round.

Getting around

There are three main ways to get around Namibia and visit Damaraland North …

Self-drive

The first option is to self-drive, which is reasonably safe and easy to do. The upside is that it is by far the lowest cost way to get around. The downside is that, for safety reasons, you are obliged to stick to a relatively limited network of main roads locations.

The Damaraland North area is relatively rarely visited by self-drivers, although there is a small selection of roadside lodges which caters specifically to those that do get this far north. Surprisingly it is also possible to access even the most remote camps by self-drive, simply by leaving your vehicle at a roadside lodge and being picked up by a guide and vehicle from the camp. This is a great way to add a big dose of authenticity and quality into a self-drive, but can be pricey.

Flying safari

The second option is to travel around by light aircraft. This is both a great deal easier and enables you to access some wonderfully remote locations. The downside is that it’s much more expensive, as much as three times the price of self-drive.

By far the most common way to access the remote camps in this area is to fly in by light aircraft, which is fabulous and easy, but inherently expensive.

Guided overland expedition

The third option is guided overland safari, which enables you to really explore the truly wild and wonderful parts of the country. The downsides are that this can be quite an arduous way to travel and can become quite costly.

Guided overland expeditions tend to often include the Damaraland North area, this is prime territory for this style of exploration.

Combinations

Many of the very best trips to Namibia combine two or three of these ways of travelling around.

Where to stay

It is important to appreciate that the Damaraland North area contains two very different safari areas, with two distinct clusters of accommodation options …

The high plateau of the Etendeka Mountains is centred on the enormous Palmwag Concession, where Desert Rhino Camp is the stand-out option (renowned for rhino tracking on foot). The nearby Etendeka Concession contains the slightly lower cost Etendeka Mountain Camp (largely focused on hiking and walking safari). Additionally there is the much lower cost Grootberg Lodge for self-drivers.

Further north lies the hidden Hoanib Valley, which is the best area for wildlife viewing in these western deserts. Deep within the valley are the two prime options, Hoanib Camp and Hoanib Valley Camp. A much lower cost way for self-drivers to access the area is to stay at either Fort Sesfontein Lodge or Khowarib Lodge and visit the valley on day trips.