The camp site at Sesriem receives its name from the nearby canyon of the same name. This is the gateway to the sand dune desert and on to one of Namibia's most popular and famous tourist attractions, the dunes at Sossusvlei. It is set amongst a beautiful surrounding landscape, with mountains to the east and dunes to the west.

Sesriem gets it's name from early pioneers, who wanted to get water from the canyon. They had to tie six leather thongs to the handle of their buckets, in order to draw water from pools that were inaccessible to their livestock. These thongs were called 'leer riems' in Afrikaans, 'ses' being six in the same language. The area soon became known as 'Ses Rieme' or Sesriem.

The main reason for camping at Sesriem is in order to get an early start on your way to visit Sossusvlei. Sossusvlei means 'the gathering place of water' in the local Nama language. Seasonal rains from the Naukluft and Tsaris Mountains that succeeded in reaching the vlei, create temporary lakes that reflected the sand dunes surrounding them. The high, red sand dunes which surround Sossusvlei form part of the sand sea, which stretches from just north of Luderitz to the Kuiseb River. Some of these dunes reach as high as 220m.

Vegetation, such as the camelthorn tree, (many a breakfast or lunch is taken under these trees here) is watered by infrequent floods of the Tsauchab River, which slowly soak into the underlying clay. Sossusvlei is one of 4 clay pans in the area, the others being The Dead Vlei, Hidden Vlei and Nara Vlei.

Camping for the dunes at Sossusvlei is available here at Sesriem. (Camping is not permitted at Sossusvlei). Ordinary sedan cars can travel the 63 km on the tarred road from Sesriem to the beginning of the vlei, but the final 5kms have to be driven in 4WD vehicles. The nearest dunes are only a few hundred metres away from the car park and are easily accessible on foot.

There are 24 campsites at Sesriem, each in the shade of camelthorn trees. Each site has its own fireplace and tap. There are public telephones, a petrol station, the shop attached to the reception area sells beer, soft drinks and basic groceries (although it is worth bringing your own food as the stock of food in the shop is eclectic and even basics are by no means guaranteed). There is also a swimming pool and a small thatched bar serving cold beers and cool drinks. The communal ablution block has showers, toilets and wash basins. As electricity is not always guaranteed here, it is advisable that visitors take a torch/night light when going for an evening shower.

Demand for these camp sites is high and pre-booking is essential, especially in the high season. (June-September) Bookings need to be made far in advance.

Important Information:

• Entrance to the park for overnight and day visitors, is between sunrise and sunset only.
• As Sesriem Campsite is inside the Namib/Naukluft Park, overnight visitors are allowed access to Sossusvlei 1hr before sunrise.

To make the booking process as user friendly as possible we offer 2 ways to make a booking from this website:

1. The book or enquire button allows you to add multiple properties to an enquiry & in conjunction with the interactive online Namibia map it can be used to plan and book your entire Namibian trip. Once added to the shopping cart / itinerary planner properties which have online availability can be paid for and booked immediately while those without online functionality will be sent to us for processing.
2. Use email us to send an old fashioned email enquiry.