If Namibia is 'Africa for beginners', as is often said, what a wonderful place to start.
Few countries in Africa can match Namibia's sheer natural beauty. The country's name derives from its (and the world's) oldest desert, the Namib, and there are few more stirring desert realms on the planet, from the sand sea and perfect dead-tree valleys at Sossusvlei to the otherworldliness of sand dunes plunging down to the sea at Sandwich Harbour and the Skeleton Coast. Inland, running through the heart of the country, a spine of mountains creates glorious scenery – the Naukluft Mountains, the Brandberg, Spitzkoppe, Damaraland and the jaw-dropping Fish River Canyon.
Make no mistake: Namibia is one of Southern Africa's best places to watch wildlife, at least in the country's north. Etosha National Park belongs in the elite wildlife-watching destinations – big cats, elephants, black rhinos and plains game in abundance.
Namibia's human story is every bit as interesting as that written in the rocks, soil and sand of the country. Through their architecture and museums, Lüderitz, Swakopmund and Windhoek tell a complicated story of colonial settlement and oppression, while elsewhere the chance to interact with the many traditional people who call Namibia home will likely provide you with some of your most memorable moments. The Himba, in the country's far northwest, and the San in the east, in particular are soulful people with whom an encounter carries an older, deeper wisdom.
Namibia Namibië - Capital Windhoek - Area 825,615 km2 - Population 2,746,745 - Attractions Namib desert, Sossusvlei, Skeleton coast, Etosha national park, Windhoek, Himba tribes