Fish River Lodge

the best lodge in the canyon area

Fish River Lodge is located in the Fish River Canyon area of southern Namibia.

Set in an awesome remote location on a large private nature reserve on the western rim of the enormous Fish River Canyon, this stylish modern lodge offers some truly incredible views.

Amongst a stand of quiver trees at the top the cliff, this is a rather chic and modern affair, designed by a well-known architectural practice in Windhoek and built in 2009.

The large central building contains lounge and dining areas, with extensive terraces out front including a decent swimming pool.

The lodge is hosted by an excellent staff who hail from across the country, but blend together into a tight-knit team. They even have a staff choir which occasionally entertains guests.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Fish River Lodge is in 20 similarly modern suites, ranged either side of the main building, flat-roofed and wrapped in stone and glass. Decor is simple but modestly stylish. Much of the furniture is made by local craftsmen, providing an interesting contrast of old and new.

Activities

Fish River Lodge provides access to the following guided activities …

• Vehicle safari in the canyon
• Walking trails
• Mountain biking
• Canyon hiking trails
• Multiple day canyon trekking trails

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