Damaraland

We’ll lay our cards on the table straight away. Damaraland is perhaps our favourite region of Namibia. Its innate beauty is intensified by the solitude and the sense of freedom it inspires. Then add in its wild-roaming wildlife and ancient rock art. And it's a winning mix.

Damaraland offers great photographic opportunities with its imposing granite domes, dramatic flat-topped mountains and vast panoramas. A series of dry riverbeds (Huab, Ugab and Uniab rivers) cuts through this rugged mountain wilderness. Here the underground water and occasional spring offer an oasis of trees and vegetation. And this sustains the wildlife in such seemingly inhospitable terrain.

Damaraland’s two main claims on your time are its imposing geology in the south and its unique desert-adapted elephant. The vast towering mountains are the only thing that dwarfs their bulk! Generally we recommend 1-2 nights in the southern Damaraland lodges. Stay close to the fascinating rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, a prehistoric art gallery of sorts.  Equally absorbing are visits to the Petrified Forest, Burnt Mountain or the Brandberg mountains.

Next you may like to enjoy a couple of nights at one of the Damaraland lodges in the mountainous north. Here the focus is on enjoying the stark mountain scenery and going in search of its rare, desert-adapted wildlife. You may see other arid-loving species such as gemsbok, jackal, springbok and, occasionally, western black rhino. Each lodge has different activities, so chat to your Cedarberg Africa consultant about your preferences.

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