Spitzkoppe

Spitzkoppe is a group of granite inselbergs, the highest rising about 670 metres above the surrounding plain, worn smooth and rounded by a great deal of time and stripped bare of soil. The rock glows orange at each end of the day, and the shapes are simple and enormous, which is why it appears on so many Namibian tourism images. The best-known feature is the Rock Arch, a natural bridge of granite you can walk under and, with care, scramble onto. There are San rock paintings in sheltered overhangs, reached with a community guide. Because there is no settlement and no light for a very long way in any direction, the night sky here is exceptional, and the campsites are laid out among the boulders with no facilities beyond a long-drop and a fireplace.

History

The name is German for "pointed dome", and the granite is more than 120 million years old, its highest point 1,728 metres above sea level. Its photographs were used as backgrounds for 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the climbers Hans and Else Wong and Jannie de Villiers Graaff reached the summit in November 1946 (Wikipedia, Spitzkoppe).

Highlights

• The Rock Arch - the natural granite bridge, best photographed at sunrise or sunset.
• San rock paintings - sheltered overhangs with ancient painted figures, guide required.
• Bushman's Paradise - a chain-assisted scramble to an enclosed valley.
• Night skies - exceptional stargazing with no light pollution in any direction.

When to go

April to October, the dry season, with cool nights and clear skies. Summer from November is very hot. The full moon washes out the stars, so time a visit for a dark-sky window if the night sky is the draw.

Practical notes

Camping here is genuinely wild: no water, no power, no shop, and you carry everything in and out. Nights are cold in winter and days are furnace-hot in summer. The granite is abrasive and scrambles that look easy going up are harder coming down. Guides for the rock art are compulsory and worth taking regardless.

Nearby

Brandberg with its White Lady painting lies north; Swakopmund and the coast are southwest.

Key facts