Sossusvlei and the Namib

This region is really one destination with several ways in. Everything turns on Sossusvlei, and the gate is at Sesriem. From the gate 60 kilometres of tar run into the Namib-Naukluft Park, 65 according to Wikipedia. The last five to six kilometres of sand need a 4x4 or the shuttle. Solitaire lies 83 kilometres north where the C14 meets the C19, and in the southeast the tar from Mariental ends at Maltahöhe.

from Windhoek to Sesriem via Rehoboth

342 km

of tar from the gate to the 2x4 car park

60 km

from Sesriem to Solitaire

83 km

from Sesriem to Swakopmund

350 km

Tar is the exception here. From Windhoek via Rehoboth it is 342 kilometres to Sesriem, about 246 of them gravel, which means five to five and a half hours of pure driving; NWR gives 334. The Spreetshoogte route is shorter, about 305 kilometres. Its pass is steep, though: 22.2 per cent at the worst point. From the south you come up from Aus on the D707, which travellers describe as sandy in places. And the coast is 350 kilometres away via Solitaire and the Kuiseb Pass.

Fuel is what really shapes your plans. The fuel station at Sesriem ran dry several times in 2025. Fill up in Rehoboth, Solitaire or Maltahöhe, depending on where you come from, because north of Solitaire more than 230 kilometres of gravel lead to Walvis Bay without another pump.

How many nights at the dunes?

Plan two nights at Sesriem or inside the park. Getting there eats most of the first day, and the gate only opens at sunrise. With a single night you stand in Deadvlei in the morning and are back on gravel by noon. On the day you arrive there is usually time left for the Sesriem Canyon.

Guests inside the park, at the Sesriem Camp, Sossus Dune Lodge or Dead Valley Lodge, may pass the inner gate an hour before everyone else. That hour is the best reason to book inside. You book the state-run NWR camp directly with NWR, in October 2026 by email. More lodges lie outside the gate and along the road towards Solitaire.

Solitaire is worth a night of its own if you come from Windhoek over the Spreetshoogte. Otherwise it is an hour's break with fuel and a bakery. Maltahöhe suits you if you arrive from Mariental and want to see Duwisib Castle, 72 kilometres southwest. It has been shut since 2022. Wikipedia describes the C19 from there to Solitaire as often in poor condition.

Roads after the rain

In April 2026 travellers reported flood damage on the roads around Sossusvlei and the D1206 under water between Rietoog and Bullsport. On 27 March 2026 the Kuiseb Pass was closed for a day. Ask about conditions before every long stretch.

Since 2 May 2026 you may once again drive your own 4x4 to the 4x4 car park at Sossusvlei, and since April the park has charged foreign adults N$ 280 a day. An environmental assessment for tarring the roads from Walvis Bay via Solitaire to Maltahöhe, about 385 kilometres, was out for comment in 2025. By late 2025 the roads authority was short of bitumen. Expect gravel, as of October 2026.

Our tipBook both nights inside the park if anything is still free. With an hour's head start at the inner gate you reach Deadvlei before the heat builds between the dunes.

Places in the region

• NamibSesriem and Sossusvlei

  Fuel station, camp and park gate on the edge of the Namib, 60 kilometres from the dunes.

• NamibSolitaire

  Fuel, bakery and shop at the junction of the C14 and C19, the stop nobody skips between Sossusvlei and the coast.

• NamibMaltahöhe

  The village at the end of the tar, with gravel roads to Sesriem, Solitaire and Duwisib Castle.

Worth seeing: Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, Namib-Naukluft Park, Kuiseb Canyon, Duwisib Castle

Stages in and through the region