Little Sossus Lodge Activities

Exploring the Desert

The hosts at Little Sossus care deeply about their desert home and strive to preserve it for future generations. They are not only committed to conservation but are also passionate about sharing their knowledge and experience about the desert.

By getting to know about the little details of the desert, a whole new world is exposed to you. Guided activities are presented by the hosts at Little Sossus Lodge and Camping.

Balloon Safaris

A hot air balloon flight is probably high on anyone's wish list. Being in the beautiful Namibrand area, the ideal opportunity for an exquisite safari is offered by Namib Sky Balloon Safaris.

View the dunes, the fairy circles and the unmatched beauty of the landscape from the deafening silence experienced in a hot air balloon, floating above the Namib desert.

Sesriem & Sossusvlei

The main attractions of this area, aside from the exquisite beauty of the surrounding desert landscape, are Sesriem Canyon and Sossusvlei. Little Sossus Campsite is set on a farm, 36km from the entrance gate to the Namib-Naukluft Park at Sesriem. The canyon is just 4 kilometres into the park.

Dead Vlei and Hidden Vlei as well as the massive dunes in the area are all normally included when referring to Sossusvlei. The parking area at Sossusvlei is 60 km from the entrance gate to the park at Sesriem.

Make an early morning start to enjoy a whole day at these world-renowned attractions. Drive to the Sesriem entrance of the Namib-Naukluft Park and onwards to Sesriem Canyon, Dune 45, Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Big Daddy Dune for action and adventure as well as endless photography opportunities.

Sesriem Canyon

The Tsauchab is a dry riverbed where water flows only during the rare times when rain falls in the Naukluft Mountains and there is enough water to run off, since the desert sand absorbs most of the flow. These waters never reach the ocean but flows through the Sesriem Canyon, into the salt pans from where it disappears into the sand and evaporates.

Proof that the Namibian desert is millions of years old, can be found in the mesmerizing rock formations of Sesriem Canyon where the seldom flowing water carved a path through the sedimentary rock.

The one-kilometre-long canyon was so named by the Dorsland Trekkers who had to join 6 rawhide thongs (rieme) in order for a bucket to reach the water at the bottom of the canyon, measuring the depth of up to 30 metres. In some places only 2 metres wide, there is a portion that permanently contains water, where animals go to drink.

The canyon is 4km from the Sesriem entrance to the park and is not visible until you reach the edges and gaze down into the depts of it.

Dune Climbing

The red dunes of the Namib developed over millions of years with the red sand brought down the Orange river deposited into the Atlantic Ocean and then being brought to land on the Benguela current and swept inland by the strong winds blowing over the Atlantic Ocean.

The dunes around Sesriem and Sossusvlei, including the nearby Elim, Dune 45 as well as Big Daddy are called "star dunes" as they are shaped by the wind from all the directions.

Dune 45 is famously the most photographed due in the world and was so named because it is 45km from the Sesriem entrance to the Namib-Naukluft Park. It is over 170 metres high and a challenge to climb for young and old.

Big Daddy is the tallest dune in this area and lies between Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. Daddy being 325 metres high, faces Big Mama, which is not much lower.

Sossusvlei

The word sossus, roughly translates from Nama as dead-end, and vlei is the Afrikaans word for marsh. Even though this is not really a marsh as such but more of a salt pan, this is the place where the Tsauchab river disappears into the desert after heavy rains in the Naukluft mountains. This doesn't happen very often but when it does and the pans fill up, it appears as a lake, drawing people from all over the world to witness this phenomenon.

Hidden Vlei is a few kilometres' walk from the parking area at Sossusvlei, but absolutely rewarding to those who make the effort.

A 3 km walk in a different direction, takes you to Deadvlei - a forest that has been frozen in time. It is a paradise for photographers, witnessing the 900-year-old skeletons of trees trapped in a white clay marsh, set against the backdrop of red dunes and brilliant blue sky.

When at the parking area at Sossusvlei, look out for the signboards directing you in different directions to the different vleie, as each of them have their own special scenery.