Experience one of the grandest geographical sites on the African continent at Fish River Canyon. You will find this awe-inspiring canyon in the harsh southern bowels of the Namib Desert. It is a popular destination with travelers who like off-the-beaten-track Namibian safari.
Need Advice?Adventures in the area focus on exploring the canyon and the landscape, partly contained in the privately-owned Gondwana Canyon Park.
In addition to savoring the spectacular sights at sunset and sunrise, nature drives offer the opportunity to encounter desert-adapted wildlife. Guided morning hikes allow you to familiarize yourself with the smaller details of this area's unique ecology. Hiking the Fish River Canyon is a bucket list venture for hiking enthusiasts worldwide.
The area is a beautifully carved masterpiece resembling an African cousin to the famous Grand Canyon, although more archaic and mysterious. The panoramic views of the canyon offer an extraordinary insight into the incredible natural force that the simplest elements, like flowing water, possess.
The elegant curves and edges of the area make it ideal for outdoor activities like hiking, walking, or trail running. There are many routes and many corners of the canyon to explore and enjoy, especially when the hot Namibian sun peeks over the horizon in the early morning or evening.
A handful of sulfur springs bunched together in the region are popular destinations. From designated viewpoints, you can observe these seemingly unnatural pools – another symbol of the hostility of life in the canyon and the odd beauty you could encounter if you dare to tolerate these harsh conditions.
Experiences are mainly terrestrial. Whether tackling the infamous hiking trail, strolling in the natural surroundings, or soaking up the earth's bounties in a sulfurous spring, you'll undoubtedly savor the canyon's spoils.
A flight to Windhoek Airport from either Cape Town or Johannesburg International Airport is the usual first step to reach this unique destination. However, the flight might take place earlier in your safari, with the rest of the traveling time taking place by road.
By road, one of our tour guides will gladly take you from point A to point B; point B is the Fish River Canyon in the south of Namibia. The air-conditioned ride will travel from the airport or another destination in the area on your safari itinerary.
Like so many places in Namibia, the day temperatures reach maximums higher than some are used to, and the night temperatures are equally extreme in the other direction. Nevertheless, seasonal changes do occur, and when the river is flowing the surrounding camps are treated by a slight breeze from deep within the canyon. Sunscreen and a hat are essentials here year-round, but with the accommodation on offer here a good night’s sleep and comfortable and relaxing environment are guaranteed. The best time to visit then is late in the summer around February, when the river is in full flow and more can be seen, despite the temperature. In the winter, temperatures are more temperate, but the river subdivides into a narrow chain of pools.
Like most of Namibia, the canyon is one of the oldest in the world. The canyon partly formed before the African and South American continents separated around 60 million years ago. After that, the Fish River carved its way into the area's rock to deepen and expand the canyon to its current state. In recent history, the site has established itself as a fan-favorite in hiking, especially in Southern Africa. The region is host to the annual Fish River Canyon Ultra Marathon, a 100km trail for men and women – one of the highlights of the year for hiking athletes in the region.
The area has shrubs and other small plants that are the basis of the ecosystems here. These plants then sustain several antelope and small herbivores, including a subspecies of mountain zebra endemic to Namibia and scattered regions of the Northern Cape in South Africa. Klipspringers are another edition to the area perfectly adapted to the rocky cliffs and edges of the canyon, with evolutionary adaptations that allow them to agilely and nimbly move between cliff faces in search of food.
As expected, the Fish River Canyon – the second largest in the world – is a somewhat rocky and barren sculpture carved out over the last few hundred million years in different stages, highlighting the essence of Namibian life; water is the most valuable resource. The rocky outer slopes of the canyon mirror the flowing water that shaped them, creating a tantalizing mirage of water at the bottom of the canyon in the dry season, when the canyon's sculptor vanishes for the most part. The vegetation can hardly be seen by aerial views and takes the form of small, well-adapted plants that grow close to the ground to minimize transpiration. Cacti and succulent trees appear, although they are few and far between.
As mentioned before, hiking is a real and widely practiced activity in this rocky world. If the physical battle of hiking is not for you, walking, sightseeing, stargazing, and game viewing are all on the list of activities you might enjoy here. Upon arriving, the magnitude and extremist nature of the world in this part of Namibia will fill you with awe and help you rediscover a child-like wanderlust that will drive you around each corner in pursuit of curiosity and the curious world the canyon harbors.
