Damaraland Camp

a strong location for desert elephants

Damaraland Camp is located in the Twyfelfontein area of west Namibia.

This lodge is set in an interesting position, tucked away in a characteristic red basalt valley at the southern edge of the Etendeka Mountains, high above the Huab River valley.

It is an area of remarkable and atmospheric mountain landscapes and the lodge itself is at the heart of a large private concession, on which it enjoys exclusive use, so you can expect extremely low guest densities.

The property is a comfortable and stylish tented camp, with lovely open-plan central areas including a nice little swimming pool to one side and properly centred on a good campfire.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Damaraland Camp is in ten very comfortable tented suites which are ranged up the valley slopes on either side of the central building.

Activities

Damaraland Camp provides access to the following activities …

• Vehicle safari
• Bush meals
• Rock art
• Geology
• Balloon safari
• Cultural interaction
• Mountain hiking

Twyfelfontein is a very popular area that tends to feature in a very high proportion of trips around Namibia, especially self-drive trips.

The usual stay duration is 2-4 nights.

Seasonality

The climate in Twyfelfontein is relatively stable and the area can be visited year round, although the most popular period is the long Apr-Dec dry season, since this offers the best chances of desert elephants.

Getting around

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

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 Twyfelfontein area is most commonly visited by self-drive. There are good dirt roads in and out, all well maintained and signposted. But be sure to know exactly where your lodge is, in our experience it’s the last few hundred metres that can end up causing the problem.

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.

The Twyfelfontein area is relatively rarely included in flying safaris, mainly because the more remote lodges further to the northwest tend to deliver a better experience. However, if you are particularly interested in rock-art, then this is the place.

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 generally tend to focus on more remote areas to the northwest of here (Damaraland North, Kaokaland West and Skeleton Coast North areas). But if you undertake the long and relatively arduous backtrack route from Swakopmund via Brandberg to Twyfelfontein, bivouac camping along the way, then this area can suddenly feel much more remote.

Combinations

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

conveniently located between Swakopmund and Etosha