Safari in Fish River Canyon

seriously impressive views from the southern rim

Fish River Canyon is an enormous chasm which cuts through the granite uplands of Southern Namibia.

In terms of volume it is said to be the second largest geological feature of its type in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the USA. Certainly it is a landscape on a vast scale and pretty impressive.

The main reason that most people come here is simply to view the canyon from one or more of the viewpoints ranged along the rim.

A small number of more hardy and committed visitors undertake one of the tough but atmospheric multiple-day guided hikes through the canyon itself.

Guests staying at the lodges on the north side are also able to descend into the canyon by vehicle to swim in and picnic by the river far below.

The Fish River area tends to feature in trips relatively rarely, because few first-time visitors to Namibia have enough time to come this far south when undertaking a circuit of the country and returning visitors almost always end up focusing on the remote northwest. However, this is a fun area to drive through, in combination with Luderitz.

The usual stay duration is 1-2 nights.

Getting there

We find that the best way to integrate the Fish River Canyon into a self-drive trip around Namibia is usually to come down from Windhoek, stay at one of the lodges on the north side of the canyon and then sweep across to Luderitz, before turning north towards Sossusvlei. Or vice versa.

Fish River Lodge is without doubt the best option on this northern side of the canyon, a funky modern place with excellent activities.

However the vast majority of visitors pass through whilst undertaking the long main road traverse up from Cape Town, swinging into the southern side of the Fish River Canyon to break the journey. Although this side tends to be a good deal more busy, the viewpoints are arguably more impressive.

This Fish River Canyon area is most commonly combined in trips with other popular locations around the country such as Luderitz, Sossusvlei, Swakopmund, Twyfelfontein and Etosha.

The best way to combine the Fish River Canyon into a high end flying safari is probably to stay at the Namibrand Reserve to the north, maybe at Wolwedans Dune Camp and visit the area on one of their scenic flying safaris.

Where to stay

The Fish River Canyon area contains several lodges.

Most of these are on the more busy southeast side, which is more accessible from the main Cape Town to Windhoek highway.

When driving around Namibia we generally prefer to include Fish River Lodge, which is on the much quieter northern side of the canyon.

usually accessed by road, between Mariental and Luderitz