Sossus Dune Lodge

The stay

Inside the gate, facing the dunes

The Sesriem gate opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, which decides how everyone outside the park sees Sossusvlei: in mid-morning light behind a line of cars, and back out before dusk. Sossus Dune Lodge is inside, so neither rule applies to you.

Twenty-five chalets stand on stilts along a raised wooden walkway, built with a light footprint from wood, canvas and thatch, with views over the dunes, the plains and the Elim mountains. Inside, the finish is neutral and natural — leather, wood and canvas — with plush seating and a proper desk.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all included and served in the central restaurant, which looks out over a waterhole where game gathers in front of the dunes. There is a bar, a lounge, a sunset deck and a swimming pool.

What to do

Why stay at Sossus Dune Lodge?

For photographers above all. Staying inside the park means you beat the crowds to the dunes in the first light, and you can stay out for the last of it after everyone driving in from outside has had to turn back. Those two hours are the ones people come to Sossusvlei for.

It is also the most comfortable of the options inside the gate. Rooms rather than a tent or a pitch, all meals included, a pool, and a waterhole in front of the restaurant — while still being built light enough that it sits into the landscape rather than on top of it.

The honest note is the cooling. The chalets have fans, not air-conditioning, and the canvas walls are part of why. Mosquito nets mean you can leave the door open at night, which is how most guests cope in summer.

Before you book

• Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included in the room rate
• Free-standing fans, not air-conditioning — worth knowing between November and March
• Wi-Fi is pay-to-use
• Park entry fees are payable separately
• Fuel and tyre repair are close by at Sesriem
• Only two honeymoon suites — ask early
• Beds inside the park are limited and go a long way ahead in the dry season

Activities

• Early access to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, before the outer gate opens to day visitors
• Staying out after sunset, when others have had to leave
• Scenic game drives and guided excursions to Sossusvlei and Sesriem Canyon
• Guided night walks with stargazing
• Self-drive days in the park
• The swimming pool and sunset deck

Things to see

• Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Hidden Vlei
• Dune 45, Big Daddy and Big Momma
• Sesriem Canyon
• The dunes and the Elim mountains from your veranda
• Game at the waterhole in front of the restaurant

Facilities

• Restaurant, with all meals included
• Bar and lounge
• Sunset deck
• Swimming pool
• Souvenir shop and laundry service
• Raised wooden walkways linking the chalets

Staying inside the park at Sossusvlei

• Sossus Dune Lodge — twenty-five chalets, all meals included
• Dead Valley Lodge — tented chalets with air-conditioning, all meals included
• Sesriem Oshana — twelve campsites, each with a private bathroom
• Sesriem Campsite — forty-four sites, the easiest in-park bed to get

Getting there

• Inside the Namib-Naukluft Park, at the Sesriem gate
• 60 km on to Sossusvlei itself
• Bring your booking confirmation for the gate