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Namibia

Etosha National Park

PLAN MY TRIP

Covering more than 8,600 square miles, Etosha National Park in north-central Namibia is one of Africa’s largest parks and greatest wildlife viewing spots.

Created as a game reserve in 1907 and then declared a national park in 1967, Etosha is Namibia’s premiere wildlife destination covering a diverse range of landscapes including desert, semi-desert, and savanna. The park is named for and dominated by the Etosha Pan, a salt desert that is nearly completely barren in the dry winter months. While it is so large it can be seen from space, the Etosha Pan only makes up a third of the park itself. Perennial springs along the edges of the pan create natural waterholes that draw daily concentrations of wildlife and wildfowl. In addition to the saltpan, the park is covered by mopane scrubland as well as tall tree forests of the unique moringa or “ghost tree.” There are even wide expanses of grassland and the undulating reddish-brown landscape of dolomite in the west.

Part of Etosha’s charms lie in the fact that the animals are easy to find. Just park next to one of the many waterholes and a veritable host of animals including lions, elephants, springboks, gemsboks, giraffes, and more will come by the hundreds. At night, floodlights on the water holes illuminate the nocturnal doings of lions, cheetah, elephants, and rhinos. During summer, the rains turn the saltpan into a shallow lake that attracts thousands of migratory birds, most notably pelicans and flamingos.

The 526-mile fence surrounding the park protects the reserve’s diverse wildlife from external contamination and has resulted in many healthy populations. From May to September, game viewing is excellent and promises sightings of the endemic black-faced impala and endangered black rhinoceros. Dolomite in the western section of the park is the only place to see Hartmann’s mountain zebra.

Etosha is also one of the most accessible game reserves in Namibia and Southern Africa. Not only is the area malaria free, the roads are accessible by a regular car and there are plenty of rest areas, restaurants, viewing decks, shops, and gas stations around. Of course, the safari camps in the park offer day and night game drives led by expert guides for knowledgeable viewing of the abundant wildlife, especially around the water holes. Other excursions take in the vast salt pan known as the great white place and even used as a backdrop in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Safari Camps
Points of Interest
Hotels & Resorts
Journeys
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Namibia

Etosha National Park

PLAN MY TRIP

Covering more than 8,600 square miles, Etosha National Park in north-central Namibia is one of Africa’s largest parks and greatest wildlife viewing spots.

Created as a game reserve in 1907 and then declared a national park in 1967, Etosha is Namibia’s premiere wildlife destination covering a diverse range of landscapes including desert, semi-desert, and savanna. The park is named for and dominated by the Etosha Pan, a salt desert that is nearly completely barren in the dry winter months. While it is so large it can be seen from space, the Etosha Pan only makes up a third of the park itself. Perennial springs along the edges of the pan create natural waterholes that draw daily concentrations of wildlife and wildfowl. In addition to the saltpan, the park is covered by mopane scrubland as well as tall tree forests of the unique moringa or “ghost tree.” There are even wide expanses of grassland and the undulating reddish-brown landscape of dolomite in the west.

Part of Etosha’s charms lie in the fact that the animals are easy to find. Just park next to one of the many waterholes and a veritable host of animals including lions, elephants, springboks, gemsboks, giraffes, and more will come by the hundreds. At night, floodlights on the water holes illuminate the nocturnal doings of lions, cheetah, elephants, and rhinos. During summer, the rains turn the saltpan into a shallow lake that attracts thousands of migratory birds, most notably pelicans and flamingos.

The 526-mile fence surrounding the park protects the reserve’s diverse wildlife from external contamination and has resulted in many healthy populations. From May to September, game viewing is excellent and promises sightings of the endemic black-faced impala and endangered black rhinoceros. Dolomite in the western section of the park is the only place to see Hartmann’s mountain zebra.

Etosha is also one of the most accessible game reserves in Namibia and Southern Africa. Not only is the area malaria free, the roads are accessible by a regular car and there are plenty of rest areas, restaurants, viewing decks, shops, and gas stations around. Of course, the safari camps in the park offer day and night game drives led by expert guides for knowledgeable viewing of the abundant wildlife, especially around the water holes. Other excursions take in the vast salt pan known as the great white place and even used as a backdrop in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Safari Camps
Points of Interest
Hotels & Resorts
Journeys