This tour takes you from the Dorob National Park into the northern reaches of the Naukluft Park past the Moon Valley, through the Swakop River Valley and the Welwitschia Plains east of Swakopmund.

Millions of years and even more cubic metres of water contributed to the formation of this internationally known tourism attraction, the lunar-like landscape called the Moon Valley. According to geologists, the group of hills was pushed through the earth’s surface about 500 million years ago. On misty mornings when the coastal fog penetrates between the hills, the valley can be described as ghostlike, but once the sun’s rays emerge, the fog disperse and the lunar landscape reveals itself with the most spectacular colours and contours, making this spectacular moonlike topography a photographer’s haven.

From here we travel through the Swakop River Valley into the Swakop River. Huge Acacias and Tamarisks fill the riverbed with bright green Salvadora shrubs on the river banks. This linear oasis with water flows beneath the dry surface sand, provide an oasis for several bird species and desert adapted animals.

Once on the plains the most notable feature of this area is the presence of the highest concentration of Welwitschia mirabilis plants (Welwitschia) in Namibia. Not only is the Welwitschia endemic to the Namib Desert and semi-desert, it is also taxonomically very distinct, being the only representative in its family, and only one of three species in the order Gnetales.

Price:

/ per person