Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei - a magical place - Be there early in the morning to get the colours!

The name "Sossusvlei" is often used in an extended meaning to refer to the surrounding area including other neighbouring vleis such as Deadvlei and other high dunes, which is one of the major visitor attractions of Namibia.

It is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert.

The name "Sossusvlei" is of mixed origin and roughly means "dead-end marsh". Vlei is the Afrikaans word for "marsh", while "sossus" is Nama for "no return" or "dead end". Sossusvlei owes this name to the fact that it is a drainage basin without outflows for the ephemeral Tsauchab River.

Source - Wikipedia

Sesriem Canyon

Sesriem is the "Gateway to Sossusvlei". It is a small village called after a natural canyon carved by the Tsauchab rivier in the local sedimentary rock, about a kilometre long and up to 30 meters deep.

The name Sesriem is Afrikaans and means "six belts", given by settlers returning from the Dorsland Trek who had to attach together six belts (made of ox hides) in order to reach buckets down into the canyon to scoop up water. The Sesriem Canyon is only two metres wide in some places, and has a portion that permanently contains water, which many animals use.