Ai-Ais Hot Springs Resort

The stay

Burning water at the bottom of the canyon

/Ai-/Ais means “burning water” in the local Nama language, and the name is no exaggeration. A sulphurous spring rises right inside the resort, hot enough that the story goes it was found in 1850 by a Nama herder out looking for lost sheep. The resort is built around it, in a bend of the Fish River with the canyon walls rising on every side.

The spa complex is the reason to come. Indoor thermal pools, an outdoor pool and treatments in the wellness centre, with water reputed to help with rheumatism and certain to help with legs that have just walked the length of the canyon. This is where the multi-day Fish River hiking trail finishes, and hikers arrive with a single idea.

It is a government-run Namibia Wildlife Resorts property, so expect practical rather than polished: a buffet restaurant, a bar, tennis courts, a fuel station and wide riverside grounds. It is also hugely popular with Namibian and South African families in the school holidays, so book well ahead, particularly if you want a room rather than a pitch.

What to do

Why stay at Ai-Ais?

Ai-Ais is the only place to stay down in the lower canyon itself, inside the Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. The famous viewpoints are at the other end, near Hobas, roughly seventy kilometres north, so the canyon you see from here is the view from the bottom looking up rather than the edge looking down. For many people that, and the pools, is the whole point.

It works especially well as the first or last night in Namibia on the road to or from South Africa, and in the cooler months, when the hot water is at its most welcome. In summer the valley holds the heat, so plan to swim early and late.

If you would rather be close to the viewpoints at the top of the canyon, Hobas is inside the park near the rim, and the Gondwana lodges — Canyon Village, Canyon Lodge and Canyon Roadhouse — are just outside it. Plenty of people split their nights between the two ends.

Before you book

• River and Mountain View rooms include breakfast; Bush Chalets are self-catering
• There is no running cold water — the spring water has to be cooled, so cold water runs on a set schedule
• The pools close at night for safety
• Park entry fees for the Transfrontier Park are paid separately
• Campers pay a small extra fee for the indoor thermal pool
• Very busy in South African and Namibian school holidays — book early
• Ramps into the main building and every room

Things to do

• Thermal pools and spa — indoor pools, an outdoor pool and treatments in the wellness centre
• Walks into the canyon — best in the late afternoon, when the shadows lengthen and the rock gives off the day’s heat
• Guided walks and drives into the Fish River Canyon
• The Fish River hiking trail — the multi-day route through the canyon finishes here, and runs only in the cooler months. Transfers to the start and secure parking can be arranged
• Bird watching along the river
• Tennis on the resort’s courts

Things to see

• The lower Fish River Canyon from the valley floor
• The hot spring itself, which rises inside the resort
• The Fish River, flowing after the summer rains and a chain of pools the rest of the year
• The Richtersveld, across the river in South Africa

Facilities

• Spa and wellness centre
• Indoor thermal pools and an outdoor pool
• Restaurant serving buffet meals, and a bar
• Shop and kiosk
• Tennis courts
• Fuel station
• Room service and laundry
• Secure parking and a safe for valuables at reception
• Wheelchair ramps into buildings and rooms

Getting there

• At the southern end of the Fish River Canyon, in the Karas Region
• About 128 km west of Karasburg and 224 km south-west of Keetmanshoop
• Roughly 70 km south of the main canyon viewpoints at Hobas
• Sendelingsdrift border post links the park to the Richtersveld in South Africa
• GPS: -27.92861, 17.48333 — open in Google Maps