Top Activities to Experience in Namibia: Africa’s Stunning Destination

Namibia is a feast for the senses, featuring otherworldly landscapes, jaw-dropping wildlife, and exquisite luxury lodges.

Only in Namibia can watching a single elephant feel far more powerful than witnessing an entire herd, and can gazing out over a vast sea of sand feel like a religious experience. This is largely due to its surreal landscapes, which elevate every wildlife sighting and outing to extraordinary status. On a recent trip to this sparsely populated African nation, I was awed by the simple sight of a lone bull elephant strolling along an arrow-straight path across the sandy, dried Huab River in Damaraland, with jagged mountains rising in shades of purple and blue behind him, slowly approaching with footsteps that eventually became audible.

Wildlife and Natural Beauty

There’s beauty in both the minuscule and the magnificent alike in Namibia — a true paradise for photographers, even for amateurs. While it’s not undiscovered, wildlife-rich destinations such as South Africa, Tanzania, and Botswana often attract those in search of quantity. Though wildlife might be fewer in prolific numbers (there is a healthy population of rhinoceros, however), Namibia is arguably about quality over quantity, with colors so vibrant that you might almost not believe your eyes.

Growing Luxury in Tourism

Recent years have seen a significant boom in tourism in Namibia, highlighted by the emergence of numerous luxury lodges and camps, including Zannier Hotels Omaanda, Zannier Hotels Sonop, Shipwreck Lodge, Hoanib Valley Camp, Camp Sossus, the total rebuild of andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, and Wilderness Safaris’ Little Kulala renovation.

Adventurous Road Trips

While adventurous road trip enthusiasts can navigate Namibia independently, custom travel creators like Extraordinary Journeys are well-equipped to craft an epic itinerary and coordinate logistics, including charter flights. Delegating the details to experts can lead to thrilling surprises, such as a breathtaking Scenic Air flight from Swakopmund to Sossusvlei. From the air, you can admire where the dunes meet the Atlantic Ocean, witness colonies of seals frolicking in the surf, spot looming shipwrecks, and observe thousands of flamingos flying in flawless synchrony, as if soaring above an entirely different planet.

“There needs to be some art and beauty in your world to truly appreciate it,” remarked Scenic Air pilot Anthony during our first flight from Windhoek. We were heading to Onduli Ridge, but the landscape felt extraterrestrial. In reality, we were crossing Damaraland’s Doro Nawas Conservancy, which resembles a more extreme version of Joshua Tree.

Unique Lodging at Onduli Ridge

“The roads are bumpy, but they say bumpy roads lead to beautiful destinations,” our guide William explained as we approached a futuristic circular lodge nestled among massive boulders. He was correct: Ultimate Safaris opened Onduli Ridge in April 2021, creating a fantastical semi-arid oasis that is most breathtaking as the sun descends, illuminating the granite in bright orange hues.

From the wraparound deck, restaurant, and bar spreads a limitless, sublime horizon that is both thrilling and calming. In the distance lies Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage site, rich with evocative sandstone engravings created by the San people over 4,000 to 8,000 years ago. One day we searched for the vulnerable Angolan giraffes, and on another, for desert-adapted elephants, tracking sizable footprints before discovering a mother and baby nursing, playing, and bathing in ethereal sands. I felt like a superhero riding an e-bike through the super-flat, textured landscape while learning about impressive anti-poaching efforts, fairy circles, and local flora and fauna like the euphorbia damarana bush (which is dangerous to all except rhinos). “Those [rhinos] are being looked after like presidents,” William commented. Protecting desert-adapted rhinos is another noble goal that demands a dedicated, purposeful pursuit.

It’s not solely about high adventure; enjoying Namibia-made gin and tonics during breathtaking sunsets is an absolute must, preceding delightful dinners. The stunning free-form pool might be the most serene spot in Africa, and the six luxurious huts are uniquely designed, featuring bathrooms built around monumental boulders. Turndown service enhances the suite’s experience by turning the plush king bed out onto the panoramic wooden deck for evenings spent under a starlit sky.

NamibRand Nature Reserve

The remote NamibRand Nature Reserve offers equally endless, nuanced, and vivid landscapes. Kwessi Dunes lies beside a wavy pink dune, providing guests ample opportunities to savor relaxed days observing iconic oryx (Namibia’s national animal), dazzling zebras, a solitary ostrich, and even black-backed jackals quenched their thirst at watering holes by the elevated turquoise pool. This Natural Selection lodge features 12 thatched-roof canvas chalets, each prone to remarkable hourly changes in color, with palettes that extend to neon oranges, cotton-candy pinks, and eerie purples that intensify as the day progresses.

Activities such as quad bike outings, leisurely scenic drives, bird-watching, sundowner excursions, and stargazing (from your outdoor shower-equipped chalet in Africa’s first International Dark Sky Reserve) all lead to extraordinary, dreamlike moments. However, a day trip to Sossusvlei in the UNESCO-protected Namib Sand Sea should also be an integral part of every visitor’s itinerary.

Spending time amidst this natural wonder — a panorama of colossal coral dunes and saline and clay pans — is far more captivating than even photographs suggest. The array of sculpted sand is breathtaking, especially during the challenging hour-long climb up a 1,066-foot-tall dune known as Big Daddy, which feels akin to walking a tightrope of the finest particles. I ascended, placing my boots in my husband’s disappearing footprint like a stair climber losing ground. The steep descent was a new challenge, akin to what I imagine walking in space might feel like. At the bottom, we reached the sun-baked white clay pan of Deadvlei, where ancient camel thorn trees stand like skeletons.

Less than an hour from Windhoek, the distinctive Habitas Namibia, opened in 2021, merges the concepts of safari and wellness. Arrival is accompanied by warm hugs and intention-setting around a clay pot of Himba myrrh. The vibe throughout its 15 tented accommodations, alongside a bohemian main tent, restaurant, and pool, is celebratory, mixing art, culture, and music into a complete sensory experience.

In this expansive lowveld savanna, also being rehabilitated and rewilded as a commercial farm, guides share invaluable knowledge — such as the captivating fact that springboks jump as a signal of happiness and fitness — while navigating bumpy roads with care. “You can’t preach conservation if you forget about little animals and their burrows to seek something grand,” our guide, Shaanika, informed us, as we observed two white rhinoceroses through binoculars.

Some days at Habitas begin with hilltop yoga timed to the golden rising sun, while others conclude with meditation in the bush, followed by artisanal sundowners. Johannes, a San guide, shares stories around bonfires, enlightening guests on the tribe’s hunter-gatherer practices during nature walks that provide mini survival lessons. Spa therapies incorporate calabash gourds, Eastern practices, and red hematite body masks as seen on the iconic Himba women. Culinary offerings are both nourishing and presented beautifully, reflecting the local wildlife such as black wildebeests, giraffes, and elephants spotted down the hill. At this lodge, elements of surprise are integral, joyful, and meditative, creating unforgettable experiences. Not to mention a thrilling music and dance performance by artists drumming, stomping, chanting, and hip-shaking against the dusk sky, allowing for a liberating connection not only to Namibia’s wilderness but to the wild within all of us.