• During the day, the sand of the Namib Desert is too hot to stand barefoot, the mercury is often above 40 degrees Celsius.
• Once the sun approaches the horizon, one of Earth’s most extreme environments comes to life.
• Here are our six best things to do in Namib at sunset.

During the day, the mercury in the Namib Desert often exceeds 40 degrees Celsius and the sand is too hot to go barefoot. But once the sun approaches the horizon, humans (and other creatures) are able to brave one of Earth’s most extreme environments.

Here are our top six things to do in Namib at sunset:

1. Visit the valley where 600 year old plants grow.

See plants older than the Middle Ages. Photo Sarah Sauvage

During the day, there are places in the Namib that resemble the surface of the Sun. “Welwitschia Wash”, an ancient ravine home to one of Namib’s most remarkable plants, the Welwitschia, is best seen when the sun is low on the horizon. Some of these plants are hundreds of years old and were seedlings in the Middle Ages.

2. Climb Sunset Dune for spectacular views.

Photo: Don Cowan

It’s hard to perfectly time a hike to Sunset Dune, but it’s better to get a little tan than to miss one of the Namib’s remarkable sunsets. Depending on your level of fitness, allow 40 minutes to climb the dunes that wind behind the Gobabeb research and training center. It gives a 360 degree view of the Namib.

3. Hunt glow-in-the-dark scorpions.

Photo: Sarah Sauvage

A remarkable characteristic of scorpions is that their exoskeletons are fluorescent. Once the sun is far below the horizon and the stars are out, it’s a good time to go scorpion hunting. There are lots of scorpions on the trees along the ephemeral Kuiseb river running (when there is water) behind the Gobabeb station. Scorpions are often nestled against the bark of tree trunks. All you need is a UV torch and some patience.

4. Sit down and locate the Milky Way.

Photo: Sarah Sauvage

The Namib is very sparsely populated, with hundreds of kilometers empty of humans. While it’s a problem if your car breaks down on one of its dirt roads, it does mean the Namib has some of the most remarkable night skies in the world. This photo was taken with a smartphone camera, over a 30 second exposure, and a tripod.

5. Witness the beginning of the world at sunrise.

Photo: Sarah Sauvage

A sunset in Namib is only surpassed by its sunrise. It is possible to enter the heart of the rock formation of Mirabeb and climb on these giant outcrops. Unlike sunset, the air at dawn is cool and the rocks are reminiscent of the cold of the night. Mirabeb was the site of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 opening scene: A Space Odyssey, and there are no other people or human settlements. You feel like the only person at the beginning of the world.

6. See who has passed by your bed during the night.

Photo: Don Cowan

Photo: Don Cowan

Most of the Namib’s small creatures are active at night. Every morning on the dunes there is a murder mystery: what creature was here, what happened and, most importantly, who ate whom?

Read: We visited a remote research station in Namib. This is what we found

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