Inside the park · Sesriem, Namib-Naukluft

Sesriem Oshana Campsite

Sesriem, Namibia

Twelve camping sites inside the Namib-Naukluft park boundary, each with its own private bathroom, kitchen and power. Camp here and you reach the dunes before anyone driving in from outside.

The stay

Twelve sites on the right side of the gate

The gate at Sesriem is what decides your Sossusvlei morning. Guests staying outside the park wait for it to open at sunrise, then drive an hour to the dunes in flat light behind a queue of other cars. Camping inside puts you ahead of all of that, and lets you stay out at Sossusvlei and Deadvlei into the late afternoon while everyone else turns back to beat the closing time.

There are only two campsites inside the whole park and this is one of them, with twelve sites. That scarcity is worth taking seriously — these book out months ahead in the dry season, and when they are gone the nearest alternative is outside the gate.

What makes these sites unusual for camping is that the facilities are yours. Each has a private bathroom with a hot shower and flushing toilet, an outdoor kitchen with running hot water, a 220V point, a braai and a pergola for shade. No walking to a shared ablution block in the dark, and no queue for a sink at breakfast.

Sesriem Oshana Campsite inside the Namib-Naukluft Park

Campsite with pergola and shaded pitching area

Where you will sleep

Accommodation at Sesriem Oshana Campsite

Twelve sites, all the same, each taking up to ten people.

Sesriem Oshana Campsite inside the Namib-Naukluft Park

Campsite with pergola and shaded pitching area

Private bathroom block at a campsite

Outdoor kitchenette with wash-up and running water

Braai and seating area at a private site

Desert views from the campsite

Dunes and plains around Sesriem

Sesriem Oshana Campsite inside the Namib-Naukluft Park

Private Campsite

A large, flat, private site with a pergola over the pitching area, so your tent is in shade through the worst of the afternoon.
Each site has its own bathroom with hot and cold showers and a flushing toilet, plus an outdoor kitchenette with a wash-up and hot and cold running water. There is a 220V electrical point for charging camera batteries and running a fridge, and braai facilities.
Sites take up to ten people, which makes them good value for a family or a group travelling in convoy — you are all on one site rather than scattered across a campground.

Bring your own tent and camping kit; this is a serviced site, not a set-up tent.

Prices Book

What to do

Why stay at Sesriem Oshana Campsite?

Two reasons, and the first outweighs everything else: you are inside the gate. Sunrise on the dunes, and the late afternoon at Deadvlei after the day visitors have gone, are only available to the small number of people sleeping inside the park. Twelve sites here is most of that number.

The second is that it is camping without the usual compromise. Every site has its own bathroom and kitchen, so you get the position and the price of camping with none of the shared-ablution-block business.

The honest caveat is availability. Twelve sites, in the one place everybody wants to be, means the dry season fills up a long way ahead. If your dates have gone, tell us — the other in-park option is Dead Valley Lodge, and if you would rather not camp at all, Desert Quiver Camp is 5 km outside the gate, which is as close as you get from the other side.

Bring your own tent and kit. This is a serviced site rather than a set-up camp, so if you are not travelling with camping gear this is not the one for you.

Before you book

Bring your own tent and camping equipment
Each site takes up to ten people — good value for a group in convoy
There is no restaurant or shop at Oshana itself
The NWR Sesriem camp is about 1 km away, with a pool, restaurant, bar and shop you may use
Fuel, tyre repair and an internet café are at Sesriem
Park entry fees are payable separately at the MEFT office

Activities

Early access to Sossusvlei and Deadvlei before the gate crowd
Self-drive day trips to the dunes and the vleis
Guided Sossusvlei excursions and game drives
Self-guided walking trails
Scenic flights and hot air ballooning
Quad biking
Stargazing — there is no light out here at all

Things to see

Sossusvlei, Deadvlei and Hidden Vlei
Dune 45, Big Daddy, Big Momma and Elim Dune
Sesriem Canyon

Facilities

Private bathroom at every site, with hot shower and flushing toilet
Private outdoor kitchen with hot and cold running water
220V electrical point at every site
Braai facilities and a shaded pergola
Swimming pool, restaurant and bar at NWR Sesriem, 1 km away
Shop, fuel station and tyre repair at Sesriem

Getting there

Inside the Namib-Naukluft park boundary at Sesriem
About 1 km from the NWR Sesriem camp
Bring your booking confirmation for the gate

Dunes and plains around Sesriem

Desert views from the campsite

Photos

Sesriem Oshana Campsite in pictures

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Video

Sesriem Oshana Campsite on film

A look around Sesriem Oshana Campsite before you book.

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