Skeleton Coast

The Skeleton Coast is one of the most desolate, dramatic, and hauntingly beautiful stretches of coastline on Earth - a 500-kilometer ribbon of fog-shrouded desert meeting the cold Atlantic along Namibia's northern coast. Named for the whale and seal bones that once littered its shores (and the shipwrecks that still do), this is a landscape of otherworldly beauty and extreme isolation.

The coast's eerie atmosphere comes from the collision of the cold Benguela Current with the hot Namib Desert, creating dense fog banks that roll inland and have caused countless shipwrecks over centuries. Rusting hulks of ships lie scattered along the beach, slowly being consumed by sand and sea - photographic subjects of extraordinary power.

Despite its inhospitable reputation, the Skeleton Coast supports remarkable wildlife. Desert-adapted elephants, lions, and brown hyenas survive in the river valleys, while massive Cape fur seal colonies (up to 100,000 animals) congregate at Cape Cross. The fly-in safaris offered by exclusive operators are among Africa's most unique experiences.

May to October (dry season) offers the best conditions for fly-in safaris and wildlife viewing. Fog is a year-round feature.

November to April can be extremely hot inland, though the coast remains cool due to the Benguela Current.

The southern section (Ugab River to Cape Cross) is accessible by car year-round.