Where the desertmeets the Atlantic

The historic iron jetty from the German colonial era, now with a seafood restaurant at the end and the town's classic sunset view.

Swakopmund's red-and-white lighthouse and the Mole breakwater beside Palm Beach, the heart of the seafront promenade.

A landmark German colonial trading house with a lookout tower, one of the highlights of a walk through the old town.

A long-running museum near the Mole covering the region's natural history, peoples and colonial past.

A gallery built around an enormous quartz crystal cluster, with a gemstone shop and a mineral display.

Swakopmund's largest township, best visited on a local-led tour with home visits, food and music.

The dunes just south of the Swakop River along the B2, where most sandboarding, quad-biking and Living Desert tours take place.

The departure point for dolphin and seal cruises, with oyster and seafood restaurants on the water.

One of the tallest dunes in the area, on the edge of Walvis Bay, with a steep climb, a picnic site and an MEFT entrance fee.

A Ramsar wetland where thousands of greater and lesser flamingos feed close to the Esplanade, free to visit.

A sandspit with a 1932 lighthouse and a large seal colony, best reached on a boat cruise or kayak tour from Walvis Bay.

A fishing trawler stranded in the surf in 2008, about 14 km south of Henties Bay and now home to cormorants.

A small angling and holiday town with fuel and seafood restaurants, the gateway to Cape Cross and the Skeleton Coast.

Eroded ridges and valleys carved by the Swakop River, best in early-morning or late-afternoon light (park permit needed).

A green oasis in the Swakop riverbed with a restaurant, pool and shady campsites, the natural lunch stop on the Welwitschia Drive.

A gravel plain of ancient Welwitschia mirabilis plants, including a fenced giant estimated at well over 1,000 years old.

Towering dunes plunging into the Atlantic beside a Ramsar lagoon, reached on guided 4x4 tours at low tide.

One of the world's largest Cape fur seal colonies, with up to about 210,000 seals, beside a replica of Diogo Cão's 1486 stone cross.

Granite peaks rising about 700 m above the plains, with a famous rock arch, San rock art and a community campsite.

Namibia's highest mountain (2,573 m), home to the White Lady rock painting and thousands of other rock-art sites.

Namibia's capital and main international gateway, about four hours inland on tarred roads.

Namibia's famous red dunes and Deadvlei, an overnight trip via Walvis Bay, the Kuiseb Pass and Solitaire.