Joanna James
Dramatic desert sands, beautiful wildlife, and authentic culture – Namibia is bestowed with a whole lot more fascination and allure than the world knows it. Discover all that's fascinating about Namibia, which draws an impressive million tourists every year to the southwestern African nation.
The Republic of Namibia is the first country ever to incorporate environmental protection into its constitution. Having gained independence only in 1990, it is pretty impressive of the southwestern African nation to be committed to conserving the sustainability of its natural heritage. Now, nearly half of the country – just about 40% of the land area – is under conservation management, which in turn has blessed the nation with soaring wildlife numbers, while most of the world is seeing the contrary year on year.
Catching sight of the world's fastest land animal might be a tad more difficult than typical wildlife-watching, but your chances are a lot less slim in Namibia – home to the world's largest population of free-roaming cheetahs. The highest concentration of the majestic creatures in the whole country can be found at The Cheetah Conservation in Otjiwarongo, Namibia – a haven for a whopping 3,000 cheetahs. Tourists heading to the Etosha National Park can get lucky too. You'll know when there's a big, black-spotted cat around the corner from their distinctive chirping sound.
Stretching a staggering 1,600 kilometres and extending over 81,000 square kilometres – including significant but relatively small acreages of Angola and South Africa – the Namib Desert in Namibia is the oldest desert on earth. The rusted orange sandy landscape isn't only one of the most dramatic places in the country but is also the nation's namesake, after which the country has been given the name "Namibia". The sprawling desert sands have been around for presumably 80 million years and except for a few ungulates, no life could be found in the deserted landscape whatsoever.
Sitting beneath the sprawling Kalahari Desert is the largest underground lake (non-sub-glacial) in the world, placing Namibia right at the top on yet another bizarre yet fascinating world list. The lake is accessible through a cave, locally named "Dragon's Breath Cave", for the moist air rising from its entrance. The wondrous underground body of water dates to 1986 and sits 100 metres beneath the ground, measuring almost a massive 2 hectares.
The southwestern African nation of Namibia has nearly half of its land under conservation management and Namib-Naukluft Park in western Namibia is one of the largest conservation areas in the whole wide world. There's enough and more flora and fauna to treat the eyes of vacationing tourists. Retreat to one of the finest hotels in Namibia, including the likes of Avani Windhoek Hotel & Casino, for further blissing.
A true believer that the pen is a mighty weapon, ventures into reaching the minds of every reader with the earnest hope of leaving an indelible stream of thought.
A travel writer who has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.
