Deadvlei: the dead pan near Sossusvlei
From the 2×4 car park through deep sand, then on foot across the sand into the pan.
Deadvlei is a clay pan in Namib-Naukluft National Park, a good two and a half kilometres south of Sossusvlei. NWR calls it “Dead Pan”: dried white clay with the skeletons of camel thorn trees radiocarbon-dated to 500 to 600 years old.
The only way in is the road from the Sesriem gate. After around 60 kilometres (37 mi) it ends at the 2×4 car park; the sand track on to the car park near Deadvlei is for 4×4 vehicles or the concession shuttle only.
From the 4×4 car park it is just over 1.1 kilometres (0.7 mi) in a straight line to the edge of the pan, measured on OpenStreetMap, on foot across sand. Admission is the park’s daily fee.
NWR: Namib-Naukluft Park (Dead Pan, age of the trees, Tsauchab) ↗
In numbers
- Age of the trees
- 500 to 600 years
- Gate to 2×4 car park
- around 60 km (37 mi)
- Sand track
- around 4.5 km (2.8 mi)
- Car park to pan
- just over 1.1 km (0.7 mi) in a straight line
- Entry, adults
- N$280 per day
- Car up to 10 seats
- N$60 per day
- NWR shuttle (sold at Sesriem)
- N$180
- Highest dunes
- up to 325 m (1,066 ft)
