Namib Desert - Namibia's main attraction

Namibia is an amazing country, located in hot Africa. Despite the fact that most of it is occupied by the Namib desert, it still manages to amaze travelers with a variety of landscapes, interesting sights and monuments created by nature itself. This is the safest state in South Africa.

In Namibia, the sun shines almost all year round, which makes it an attractive resort area. Tourists from different parts of the world come here to admire the picturesque Okavango Delta swamps, to look at the salt plateau resembling cosmic landscapes, red sand dunes of the desert, granite blocks and rock massifs of the Skeleton Coast. All this is a beautiful, mysterious and distant Namibia. Tours are offered here all year round, but it is better to come from May to October, in the dry winter season, then you will definitely be able to have a good rest.

Namibia's most important landmark is the Namib Desert. There are several options for translating its name: "open plains", "a place where there is nothing", "cruel valley". The last name can underline the temperature differences, which reach a difference of 50 ° C. In the daytime in the desert, unbearable heat, and at night it is very cold, because of what in the dark you can hear sharp shots - this hot rocks are cracking in the cold.

In some places from the Atlantic side, at night a fog creeps on Namib, which dissipates only closer to noon. The desert is divided into two parts: in the south is Namib-Naukluft National Park , and in the north - Skeleton Coast National Park.

The desert covers an area of more than 100,000 sq.km. In the south-west, Namib connects with Kalahari, an even larger desert. This is one of the driest places on the planet, where in a year only 10 mm of precipitation falls. Only in the coastal regions dwelling animals live, the Namib desert is practically uninhabited.

It is one of the most ancient deserts in the world, the age of Namib is about 80 million years old. Therefore, here you can find amazing species of animals and plants that have adapted to such cruel living conditions. Some specimens are not found anywhere else in the world. The desert is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, its banks are extremely populated. On the coastal islands you can see seabirds, seals and penguins, nesting their nests, not paying attention to the heat.

In the south of Namibia, the surface of the earth is covered with sand, closer to the coast, it has a yellow-gray color, and deep into the desert - bright red. The sand begins from the longest river in South Africa, the Orange. By color, you can determine its age, the brighter it is and the brighter, the older. The fact is that it contains iron particles, which oxidize with time.

Namib Desert pleases tourists with sand dunes that stretch from north to south. There is also the highest dune in the world, its height is 383 m. Only in this place you can see an amazing plant welwichia, it grows in the north of the desert. The duration of his life is 1000 years, the plant consists of two large leaves that grow throughout his life, albeit very slowly.

Even in the desert, you can arrange a first-class holiday. Namibia is an excellent country, impressive for its unique nature and friendly atmosphere.