Swakopmund

Swakopmund is Namibia’s second biggest town

Swakopmund is Namibia’s second biggest town. You approach the Swakopmund through the endless expanses of the Namib Desert, one of the world’s largest wilderness areas. Then, through the mists (it is almost always misty in the morning and late afternoon) Bavarian spires and elaborate Germanic architecture rise through the fog banks.

The boom of the surf on the notorious Skeleton Coast is an ever-present reminder of the icy Atlantic Ocean beyond. Swakopmund is an eclectic mixture of Bohemian and Bavarian, home to an intriguing mix of artists, hippies, strait-laced descendants of German settlers, stately Herero women in Victorian dress, and hard bitten miners, game rangers, safari operators and fishermen. Swakopmund exudes romance and history, a rich cultural melting pot of old and new.

Once you’ve got over the shock of being in a little corner of old Bavaria wedged between one of the world’s harshest deserts and even harsher coastlines, the bewitching desert beckons. Just outside Swakopmund is the extraordinary Moon Landscape, a seemingly never-ending series of bizarre hills that look like pictures taken of Mars, or the Sea of Tranquillity. It is best visited at sunrise or sunset.

Just outside Swakopmund, a section of towering barcan dunes have been set aside for recreational purposes – sand boarding and skiing, quadbiking, camel rides and offroad driving. Swakopmund also offers a host of other attractions, including excursions by boat to see dolphins and seals, shorebased angling (some of the best in Africa), skin diving, surfing or just simply lazing on the beach. And, of course, the Swakopmund is surrounded by the Namib Naukluft Park, one of the most bewitching desert wilderness areas in Africa, for one day trips or longer safaris for the ultimate desert camping experience.

Accommodation in and around swakopmund