Damaraland and Kaokoveld

In the northwest the tar runs out. The Kunene Region stretches from Damaraland in the south, with Khorixas and the valley of Twyfelfontein, up into the Kaokoveld around Opuwo and on to the Kunene River at Epupa Falls. There are hardly any towns. The capital is Opuwo, with 12,331 people at the 2023 census. Out here you plan from fuel station to fuel station, not from town to town.

of gravel from Khorixas to Twyfelfontein

about 100 km

of gravel from Twyfelfontein via Sesfontein to Opuwo

371 km

of gravel from Opuwo to Epupa Falls, by source

180 to 200 km

of rain a year around Twyfelfontein

under 150 mm

There are two ways into Damaraland. From Swakopmund you drive via Henties Bay and Uis, about 340 kilometres to Twyfelfontein, four and a half to five and a half hours. From the east you reach Khorixas on tar via Outjo, and then it is just under 100 kilometres of gravel into the valley. The Kaokoveld also has two approaches. Via Kamanjab, the C35 and the C41 you reach Opuwo on tar. The C43 via Palmwag and Sesfontein, by contrast, is a good 370 kilometres of gravel. Allow six to seven hours of pure driving for that route, and not a minute of it after dark.

Twyfelfontein deserves two nights: one morning for the engravings, one day for Burnt Mountain, the Organ Pipes, the Petrified Forest or a drive to find the desert elephants. June to August is the best time for those. Sesfontein and Kamanjab are one-night stopovers. Opuwo is good for one night before or after Epupa, and the falls themselves need two, because the drive in alone takes half a day. Going on to the Kunene and back adds at least three nights to a Twyfelfontein trip.

Fuel, cash and four-wheel drive

There are fuel stations in Khorixas, in Kamanjab, where the pump runs round the clock, in Palmwag and in Opuwo. At Twyfelfontein Country Lodge a single pump opens during the day and takes cash. Do not rely on the pump in Sesfontein: travellers have found it dry. Fill up in Palmwag with enough to reach Opuwo.

You need cash at the rock engravings too. Visitors report that Twyfelfontein takes cash only, and the nearest ATMs are in Khorixas or Swakopmund. Draw enough there.

In the dry season an ordinary car will get you into Damaraland. For the rainy season from November to March, operators recommend four-wheel drive. In the Kaokoveld even a rental broker advises it, and at least one rental company excludes Van Zyl's Pass, the D3707 and the D3703 from its insurance cover. Read the contract before you settle on a route.

Roads under construction, as of October 2026

The C35 between Khorixas and Kamanjab is gravel for 105 kilometres. Tarring was due to start in May 2025 and finish in December 2027, so ask about detours before you set off. On the C35 from Henties Bay to Uis, the governor of the Erongo Region reported 16 kilometres still to go in June 2026.

The C40 from Kamanjab over the Grootberg Pass to Palmwag is often described as poor. On the C43 between Twyfelfontein and Palmwag a traveller reported a severe washaway just over a crest in January 2026, with no warning sign. Take the crests there slowly.

In western Kunene there is a moderate malaria risk all year. Talk to your doctor about prevention before you travel.

Our tipSet off in the northwest with a full tank and full water containers, even when the map shows a pump ahead. And time every gravel stage so that you arrive well before sunset.

Places in the region

• Damaraland and KaokoveldKamanjab

  The village at the junction of the C35 and C40, the last reliable fuel stop before western Etosha and the Kaokoveld.

• Damaraland and KaokoveldTwyfelfontein

  Lodges and camps in the Aba-Huab valley, the base for the rock engravings and the gravel roads of Damaraland.

• Damaraland and KaokoveldKhorixas

  The former capital of Damaraland and the last fuel stop on tar before Twyfelfontein.

• Damaraland and KaokoveldSesfontein

  A German fort from 1896 under palm trees, between Palmwag and Opuwo, with the Hoanib on the doorstep.

• Damaraland and KaokoveldOpuwo and Kaokoveld

  The main town of the Kaokoveld, where the tar ends and you do your last shopping before Epupa.

Worth seeing: Twyfelfontein, Epupa Falls, Brandberg, Petrified Forest

Stages in and through the region