City: Namibia
Top Things to do in Namibia
Top 10 Nature & Wildlife Areas in Namibia, Namibia
Coordinates: 22°S 17°E / 22°S 17°E / -22; 17
Restaurants in Namibia
1. NamibRand Nature Reserve
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 197 reviews
This reserve represents all facets of diverse desert landscapes.
Reviewed By maodohsiao - New York City, United States
you really can't go wrong anywhere in Sossusvlei. Plenty of oryx, ostriches, jackles... great place for a beautiful/peaceful sunset
2. Okonjima Game Reserve
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 82 reviews
Reviewed By danielgc205 - Windhoek, Namibia
It couldn't have been a better experience. Great in all senses: the staff, the place, the activities, the views, the educational side of it, the information provided and the food. Everything really well done and the care for the animals top of the pops! We're locals to Namibia; we'll come back for sure. Thanks for the splendid experience!!
3. Deadvlei
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 967 reviews
Reviewed By ilovecorndogs - Lausanne, Switzerland
No filters needed - this place really looks like all the pics you see online. Incredible dead black trees, on near perfect white cracked earth, with burning red dunes, and perfect blue sky - remarkable. Hike up Big daddy, but start as early as possible - trailblazing will make it harder, but it gets stunningly hot 2-3 hours after sunrise.... This is a top 5 world locations for me - just amazing
4. REST - Rare & Endangered Species Trust
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 20 reviews
Allowing tourism to brush with conservation & research in order to conserve, understand and educate. Two daily tours will be offered. Private individuals and tour groups are welcome to bring along light lunches or snacks to be enjoyed on site. Tours begin daily at 11AM & 3PM or 5PM depends on season. Costs are USD$55 per person. Visitors with SADC ID’s are given a 10 % discount upon request. We are located east of Outjo on the C39 road to Otavi. After the tar road ends and gravel begins, travel 4 km towards Otavi. There is REST signage on the right. Drive in and follow directions to the centre. We do have certain non-releasable animals that are recognized over the years such as Nesher the Cape Griffon, Ollie the Bateleur, & Amos the Cape Pangolin but since our animal welfare comes first, we never guarantee a visit with a specific animal or species. BOOKINGS ARE REQUIRED PRIOR TO ARRIVAL. You will not be allowed to enter the facility without booking a visit, before you visit.
5. Gobabeb Desert Research Station
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 10 reviews
Gobabeb Research station is a wonderful place for nature enthusiasts who prefer not to be surrounded by other tourists. Although remote Gobabeb is not far from Swakopmund and Walvis Bay and offers free and easy access to the dunes. Uniquely situated among three ecosystems (the Kuiseb River, the Namib Sand Sea and the vast gravel plains) Gobabeb provides days of exploration and hiking opportunities. With a wide range of accommodation options, swimming facilities and braai facilities Gobabeb is unique in that it also offers tours around the dunes, the Station itself and several night time activities, including Star talks and Scorpion Hunts. The centre is a research station and as such there are tours aimed at adaptations of the Namib and up to date with current research occurring on site. The centre is tourist and family-friendly, offering catering, accommodation and amazing scenery.
6. Hidden Vlei
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 93 reviews
Reviewed By SoCalSll - Newbury Park, United States
Hidden vlei is not quite a impressive as Deadvlei as there are fewer trees. It is a 2.5 km hike along a poorly marked path over soft sand to get there. That makes it a truly deserted place in which to really experience this vast landscape. Take enough water and break away from the crowds. It is worth it.
7. Cheetah Conservation Fund
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 488 reviews
A unique opportunity to experience conservation in action! CCF is the global leader in cheetah research, conservation, and education. Its Centre, 44 km east of Otjiwarongo, is open to the public all year round (8 am - 5 pm) except Christmas. CCF works to keep cheetahs in the wild and educate the public. However, it provides sanctuary to injured or orphaned cheetahs, many of which cannot be released back into the wild. Learn about the cheetah's plight, watch them being fed or exercised at high speeds, meet some of our scientists. Our Model Farm teaches farmers how to co-exist with predators. Visitors can meet some of CCF's Livestock Guarding Dogs and their flocks of sheep and goats. You can also try our home-made goat-milk cheese, ice cream or fudge at the Cheetah Cafe. Cheetah View Lodge and Babson House luxury accommodations available and an educational campsite for school groups available.
Reviewed By 768ChrisW - Peterborough, United Kingdom
I arrived just before feeding time with the meat (Donkey - I think) portioned out. The keepers were very informative and open to all questions to enhance your experience. The cafe and gift shop were also good and had extra experiences you could do. I did the Cheetah drive which again was very informative and drive through an enclosure observing the cheetahs. I worthwhile experience in the CCF and what they are doing to help and protect this graceful animal.
8. Cape Cross
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 383 reviews
Reviewed By Brittany_11_10 - Los Angeles, United States
If you're looking to experience nature truly at its rawest, Cape Cross Seal Reserve is your place. If you're squeamish or dislike the smell, the sight, or even the idea of death, the reserve is not your place. Cape Cross Seal Reserve is home to tens of thousands of cape fur seals--mamas giving birth, pups being crushed, males and females mating, males fighting each other--and depending on what time of year you're there, you can see (and smell) a massive amount of death. Death is not pretty, and it doesn't smell good. In fact, it smells vile, and my scarf-turned-mask reeked for the next 12 hours until I could thoroughly wash it. That said, that's how nature works. If you read the placards in the reception house, or the one-page brochure also available at reception, you will learn that the seals here have mostly achieved homeostasis. The only threat, not surprisingly, is humans. Otherwise, the seals live this way and it's normal, natural, and exactly how it should be. To that point, I disagree with the reviewers who think the reserve should be better maintained. For example, to the reviewer who thinks the walkway should be hosed off every day, yes, that would be nice for the human visitors, but how annoying for the seals. They live, play, fight, and nap under and next to the walkway, so hosing it down every day would disturb their lives more than we humans already do just by walking on it (and yes, I know I'm guilty of intruding on their home turf, but I try to be as minimally invasive as possible, and I prefer to keep nature like this as natural as possible). This is a wildlife reserve, not a zoo. These animals are wild, and they live--and die--according to nature. If you don't want to see that, then don't go. If you want to go to a place with freshly hosed walkways, go to a zoo (and then complain, no doubt, about this mistreatment of the animals there, and how they're kept in little cages and aquariums and the like). And to the reviewers who complain about a lack of information and/or guides, I'm willing to bet that a) you didn't read the placards at reception and/or take the paper at reception that has a good deal of information about the seals, and b) you have a smartphone with Googling capabilities. Do you really want to stand around reading signs in this place you think is so horrible and smelly and unmaintained? While the animal lover in me was sad to see so many dead seal pups--and the nose-breather in me was somewhat horrified to smell that amount of death--the wildlife lover in me thought it was an incredibly raw, unique, and interesting experience. We even saw a pup seconds after it was born, three gulls fighting over the placenta, and mama nursing newborn and fending off nosy neighbors. Pretty unforgettable, I'd say. (We also saw a jackal lingering nearby).
9. Africat
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 153 reviews
Reviewed By 971robertaf - Woollahra, Australia
Our room was divine with large windows overlooking the park. The pool and pool area was lovely and the gift shop is great. What we loved the most was going out with our guide to track the leopards. Some, not all, have a collar that let's the guide know their general area. We were lucky and tracked a beautiful leopard for quite some way. Our guide knew her territory so we waited while she marked it and managed to get some fabulous photos. There were about five or six small groups each with their own guide. Everyone saw a leopard but for some it was a glimpse in the bushes at distance. We loved it as we also saw baboons, sable, snakes and many other animals. Early the next morning we saw the rescue cheetahs. We didn't have time to attend the educational centre but I believe it's wonderful. We were so pleased we came to Africat after several days in Etosha National Park. The tourist dollar means protection for this beautiful animal.
