Namibia, Dunes of Sossusvlei
Wondrous Destinations
Standing beneath the colossal dunes at Sossusvlei, a remote patch of desert lowland in Namibia's vast Namib-Naukluft Park, it's easy to imagine yourself on some far-off, waterless planet, where life as we know it could never exist. Yet this arid and forbidding landscape, which stretches in a narrow band for some 1,200 miles along the southwest coast of Africa, harbors a surprisingly vibrant desert ecosystem thanks to the cool banks of fog that drift in from the south Atlantic. The mountains of windblown sand surrounding Sossusvlei are among the highest dunes in the world, in places reaching heights of 1,000 feet or more, and extending in sharp ridges to the north and south as far as the eye can see. Some effort and expense is involved, but try to reach this amazing spot at sunrise when the angled light of dawn accentuates the dunes' sensuous curves, and the rich, reddish hues of the sand are most vibrant.
Namibia Tourism Board: www.namibiatourism.com.na
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