Things to do in Damaraland
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Damaraland
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry winter: cold nights, mild days, animals tied to riverbed water, best tracking and walking, and the most stable gravel roads.
Spring heat: hottest and driest, wildlife concentrated near water, heritage walks and hikes early morning only.
Early summer: very hot, first storms possible, animals starting to disperse, roads usually still passable.
Rainy summer: ephemeral rivers can flow, gravel roads deteriorate, tracking is slower and less certain, landscape at its greenest.
Best things to do in Damaraland
Twyfelfontein Rock Engravings
Namibia's first World Heritage Site: 2,500 plus engravings seen only on a compulsory guided walk over rough, shadeless rock.
Petrified Forest
Stone tree trunks about 260 million years old on a short compulsory guided walk, with living Welwitschia plants on site.
Organ Pipes
A 100 metre wall of hexagonal basalt columns near Twyfelfontein, a minor 30 minute geology stop with a disputed combined fee.
Burnt Mountain
A dark, heat altered hill by the Organ Pipes that only repays a look at sunrise or sunset, on the same combined ticket.
Damara Living Museum
Damara staff demonstrate traditional smithing, tanning, crafts and fire making, plus an optional bushwalk, 10 km from Twyfelfontein.
Where to stay in Damaraland
Twyfelfontein area
rock art, Living Museum and Huab elephants
The sights cluster here, with luxury camps, the big country lodge and the budget camp all within day trip range of the engravings.
Palmwag and Grootberg
rhino tracking and northern wildlife
The concession and plateau bases for rhino and elephant tracking, on the route between Khorixas, Kamanjab and Etosha's Galton Gate.
Uis and the Brandberg
White Lady hike and Brandberg climbing
A small town base with fuel, a tea garden and the closest budget beds to the Tsisab Ravine trailhead.
Khorixas
budget self drivers and fuel
The service town for the region, cheapest beds and the Petrified Forest on its doorstep, but 100 km of gravel from Twyfelfontein.
Think twice about
- Dry riverbeds of the Huab, Aba Huab and Uniab in the rainy season
Ephemeral rivers flood without warning from rain far upstream. Never camp, park or try to cross a flowing riverbed.
- Gravel C and D roads after dark
Wildlife and livestock on the road, no braking margin on gravel, and no signal or passing traffic if you break down.
- Heritage sites without the compulsory local guide
Twyfelfontein, the Petrified Forest and the White Lady are guided only. Do not wander them alone or climb on the rocks.
Best restaurants in Damaraland
Twyfelfontein Country Lodge Restaurant
The most useful lodge table in southern Damaraland, serving residents and passing visitors 4 km from the engravings.
Grootberg Lodge Restaurant
Lodge dining on the plateau rim above the Klip River Valley, a reason to sleep at Grootberg rather than a drop in lunch stop.
Palmwag Lodge Restaurant
The reliable northern roadhouse table under thatch by the Uniab, serving lodge guests, campers and passing travellers with fuel on site.
Cactus & Coffee Teagarden
The one standalone cafe in Damaraland: breakfasts, cakes and coffee in a cactus garden in Uis, with Brandberg views.
Madisa Camp Restaurant
Self catering camp cooking and arranged fire cooked meals at Madisa, not a restaurant menu, so bring food from Khorixas.
Outdoor things to do in Damaraland
White Lady Rock Painting
The famous Brandberg painting reached on a rough guided hike of about 5 km return up the Tsisab Ravine from the trailhead.
Brandberg Mountain
Namibia's highest ground: the Konigstein summit is a multi day permit and guide expedition carrying all water, not a day walk.
Huab River
Lodge run tracking drives along dry riverbeds for desert adapted elephants, with sightings never guaranteed.
Palmwag Concession
A vast rhino stronghold concession for game drives and full day on foot rhino tracking with experienced trackers from Palmwag.
Etendeka Camp
An owner run camp renowned for guided walking trails through basalt country, the way to see Damaraland on foot.
Best hotels in Damaraland
Onduli Ridge
Six luxury suites at a granite kopje with Brandberg views, star beds on decks, and top guiding for tracking and Twyfelfontein.
Mowani Mountain Camp
A stylish boulder camp near Twyfelfontein with wide valley views, a rock pool, and Huab elephant drives from camp.
Camp Kipwe
Boulder shaped bungalows with open air bathrooms about 11 km from the engravings, with elephant drives and Twyfelfontein trips.
Twyfelfontein Country Lodge
The large practical base 4 km from the engravings, with a pool, restaurant and its own activities desk for the sights.
Grootberg Lodge
Conservancy owned rock chalets on the Etendeka Plateau rim over the Klip River Valley, running its own elephant and rhino tracking.
Palmwag Lodge
A palm oasis lodge and campsite on the Uniab River with two pools and a fuel station, the functional base for rhino country.
Madisa Camp
Private campsites and safari tents 50 km east of Twyfelfontein, the best budget base, with its own elephant tracking.
iGowati Country Hotel
A thatched town hotel in Khorixas with a pool, restaurant and campsites, the cheapest bed for self drivers touring the sights.
Is Damaraland expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NAD 1,200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NAD 3,500 a person |
| Splurge | NAD 9,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Brandberg Mountain: weeks ahead
- Huab River: a few days ahead
- Palmwag Concession: a few days ahead
- Etendeka Camp: weeks ahead
- Onduli Ridge: months ahead
- Mowani Mountain Camp: months ahead
- Camp Kipwe: weeks ahead
- Twyfelfontein Country Lodge: weeks ahead
- Book Onduli Ridge, Mowani, Camp Kipwe and Etendeka months ahead for the May to October dry season.
- Book rhino tracking at Palmwag or Grootberg and Huab elephant tracking through your lodge when you book the room.
- Arrange a Brandberg summit guide and National Heritage Council permit days to weeks ahead through Uis.
Is Damaraland safe?
- Crimes of opportunity are common, and health facilities are limited far from large cities.
- Keep your card in sight when paying, and on gravel drive at 80 km per hour or less, carry two spares and water, and do not drive at night.
- In Damaraland the road, the heat and distance from a hospital are the main risks, ahead of crime. Carry evacuation insurance.
- Carry several litres of water per person in the car, tell your next lodge your route, and never cross a flowing ephemeral river.
Damaraland travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Arriving at Twyfelfontein at midday in the hot months: the plateau is shadeless and can pass 40 degrees Celsius.
- Paying an unidentified person for the Organ Pipes and Burnt Mountain: confirm what the combined ticket covers and pay only at the recognised entrance.
- Stopping at an unofficial petrified wood site on the C39 when you meant the official Petrified Forest with its community guides.
- Expecting a restaurant scene: eating is lodge dining almost everywhere, so book dinner with your room and carry lunch food.
Getting around Damaraland: public transport and more
- Almost everything is gravel: Khorixas to Twyfelfontein is about 100 km, the Petrified Forest is 42 km west of Khorixas, and Palmwag is about 22 km beyond Grootberg Lodge.
- Drive at or below 80 km per hour on gravel, carry two spare tyres if you can, and start every day with a full tank.
- Fuel is in Khorixas, Uis, Kamanjab and at Palmwag Lodge, and not reliably elsewhere. Never pass a fuel station below half a tank.
- Plan every transfer to end well before sunset. No night driving outside towns.
Who Damaraland suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Damaraland your trip
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