Sossusvlei photography guide

If you go halfway across the world to visit this location, don’t just go for two or three days. This park offers so many different shots and it takes a while to understand how the play of light and weather works in this special location. It has taken me many visits over nearly 20 trips to get all the photos that I have. Every day you spend there will be a lot more productive than the previous ones as you get to know the place.

The most popular method of travelling through Namibia is to rent a 4x4 vehicle that is well equipped for camping. If you’re doing this and you’re on a budget, then stay at the campsite (mentioned under travel tips) for a couple of days while getting to know the place. Then book the lodge for the last couple of nights in order to gain better access hours to the park. Sossusvlei is an exhausting destination and your body will appreciate a decent bed after a few days of shooting in the sand and dust.

The most special element of Deadvlei is the silence, but as it gets more tourists every year, the silence is becoming increasingly difficult to experience. Due to the extreme afternoon heat, Deadvlei is usually empty in the afternoons, so if you want to experience this place at it’s best (alone and silent) then brave the heat and visit in the afternoon.

Choosing the right month of the year to visit Sossusvlei is of utmost importance – peak season is May-August and the place is totally overrun during those months. Don’t even think about enjoying the silence of Deadvlei as it simply won’t happen. From November to February the temperature rises to 45 degrees centigrade on most days, so those are also months to avoid. The best time to go is March and April, when tourism traffic is still low. It is also the months that one is most likely to see plenty of cloud and perhaps even some green grass amongst the dunes in a good rain-year.

Accommodation

Choosing the right accommodation is even more important. If you stay outside the park, you’ll only be able to enter at sunrise and you’ll have to be out at sunset. Once you’re inside the park gate, reaching Deadvlei requires a 60-minute drive and then a 30-minute hike. Do the math and you’ll realize that you won’t even be able to shoot golden hour in Deadvlei. This is a nasty tactic devised by the park authorities to give their own accommodation facilities a competitive edge.

Camping

One way to get better access is to camp at the NWR Sesriem campsite, situated just within the park gate. Guests of this campsite are subject to another inner gate, which opens an hour before sunrise and closes an hour after sunset. This gives you more time, but there’s an even better option.

Hotel/Lodge

The NWR Sossus Dunes Lodge is situated about 3km into the park and its guests aren’t subject to any gate. There are only poorly enforced earliest departure and latest arrival times for guests of the lodge. In the mornings they usually allow guests to leave the lodge 90 minutes before sunrise, but you can push your luck to two hours. This will give you enough time to reach Deadvlei well within blue hour. In the evenings the rule is usually also 90 minutes, but you can again push your luck a bit and see how the lodge responds. If they are friendly, push your luck a bit more the next night. If you get in trouble, rather not test their patience as you might get fined.

4x4 Required

From the gate, there is a 60km stretch of paved road to what is referred to as the 4x2 parking lot, as only 4x4 vehicles can go further along the road. From said parking lot, there is a final 5km stretch through very thick sand, for which a 4x4 vehicle is required. Do not under any circumstances attempt it in a 4x2 vehicle – you WILL get stuck. There are shuttles that taxi people along this 5km stretch, but they only start operating at sunrise. If you want to get into Deadvlei early in the morning you will have to rent a 4x4 vehicle.

Safety

Sossusvlei is very safe and I have never been the victim of theft at this destination, but common sense and precaution should be taken. Don’t leave valuables lying around in your campsite/room, rather keep it locked in your car.

Fuel/Food

There is a fuel station and very basic grocery store/café at the park gate. The Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (just outside the park gate) has a delicious lunch buffet for N$140 (~USD9) as well as the only decent WIFI at the park.

Obey The Rules

Never drive off the park road and onto the gravel plains alongside it. The tyre tracks take decades to fade away and if caught you’ll be heavily fined and kicked out of the park.

Speeding

The speed limit on the paved section of the park road is 60km/h, but you’ll see that no one obeys it. If you are the first car going into the park in the morning, be super vigilant of wildlife in the road. A large variety of animals sleep on the tarmac during the night for heat. You can expect Oryx, Zebra, Ostrich, Hyena, rabbits and owls to be sitting in the road, so keep an eye out and try not to drive too fast.