The “Sossusvlei” valley is world famous for its spectacular sand dunes and the dead trees of the “Valley of Death” (Deadvlei). Here are my travel tips for visiting the surreal landscape.
Sossusvlei – curved dunes without end
The many dunes of the Sossusvlei valley have been part of the Namib Sand Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Namib-Naukluft National Park since 2013.
The pan of the valley was formed when the towering sand dunes interrupted the flow of the Tsauchab River into the Atlantic Ocean. “Sossus” means “blind river”, “Vlei” is a valley.
Deadvlei – Valley of death with the dead trees
Towards the end of the valley, slightly off the beaten track, lies the Valley of Death (Deadvlei) with its famous dead trees. Because of the very dry microclimate, the camel thorn trees decay very slowly here.
The visual background is provided by “Big Daddy” or also called “Crazy Dune“, the highest of all dunes in Sossusvlei at 380 meters.
Dune 45 and the numbering of the sand dunes
The dunes are numbered from the valley entrance – if they are big enoug that is.
Dune 1 is the first big dune, at kilometer 45 stands the spectacular “Dune 45”.
The orange color of the sand is caused by iron oxide, and the black areas of the dunes consist of oxidized magnetite.
Best time to visit the dunes of Sossusvlei
Travel books recommend visiting the valley early in the morning because it can get very hot in the afternoon.
Depending on which lodge you stay at in the area, that means getting up before 5am because of the long drive.
We visit the dunes at the end of September, however, in the late afternoon. Then the light conditions are most beautiful and there are hardly any other tourists. It is also not particularly hot.
At Dune 45 only a second safari jeep is present, at the dead trees in Deadvlei Katja and I are alone…
However, visitors from lodges outside Sossusvlei National Park must be out by sunset.
So visitors from the state camps inside the national park get an advantage by being allowed to stay longer.
We still take the sundowner at Dune 45 before returning to Little Kulala Lodge (see our review).
How to get to the Namib-Naukluft National Park
Sossusvlei is located far in the south of Namibia in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. I recommend arriving from the national airport Windhoek Eros or from the airstrip of Swakopmund to a lodge near the valley.
The flight with a small turboprop takes about an hour and offers beautiful views of the steppe desert. By car it takes about 5 hours from Windhoek or Swakopmund.
Deadvlei can be visited without any problems as a self-driver: The road is paved until far into the valley. Only the last kilometers lead over a soft sandy track, where even robust 4x4s swim easily.
From the parking place with toilet, white posts in the sand show the footpath over the dunes to Deadvlei. The walk in the soft sand takes about 20 minutes.
