Namibia Canyon

Sesriem Canyon

274 m of rock, cut by the Tsauchab.

The cut

274 metres, to scale.

A slice through Sesriem Canyon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.

274m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

19.4km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

30°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

744m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

Afternoons, up top and down below.

In January the afternoon reaches 35 °C. The best months to hike are from June to August. The floor passes 35 °C in January: walk at dawn and carry water.

rim · 1,033 mfloor · 744 m

35°33°Jan
35°33°Feb
34°33°Mar
32°30°Apr
29°27°May
25°24°Jun
25°24°Jul
26°25°Aug
31°29°Sep
34°32°Oct
34°32°Nov
35°33°Dec

Hike: Jun–AugFloor above 35 °C: Jan

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

Sesriem Canyon is a canyon in Namibia, cut by the Tsauchab river. The relief model measures 274 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 19 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Parking 1,950 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
Walvis Bay International Airport (WVB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 208 km in a straight lineCar hire at WVB airport (Walvis Bay)Discover Cars · sponsored link
From June to Augustbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at WVB airport (Walvis Bay)Discover CarsSee prices

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The river

The Tsauchab runs highest from February to April.

The Tsauchab carries about 0.18 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from February to April. It is lowest from June to December.

0.3 m³/sJan
0.9 m³/sFeb
0.8 m³/sMar
0.7 m³/sApr
0.3 m³/sMay
0.1 m³/sJun
0.0 m³/sJul
0.0 m³/sAug
0.0 m³/sSep
0.0 m³/sOct
0.0 m³/sNov
0.0 m³/sDec

From about 0.00 m³/s in the lowest month to 0.93 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 1,512 km².

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Sesriem Canyon seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 6 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

3car parks within 3 km
1information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
5campsites within 8 kmSossus Oasis Camp Site, Desert Camp, Sesriem Campsite and 2 more
7hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSossusvlei Lodge, Desert Camp, Desert Quiver Camp and 4 more
3restaurants and cafés within 4 km

viewpoints within 5 km
marked hiking routes within 4 km
via ferrata routes within 4 km
climbing crags within 3 km
footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
swimming spots within 3 km
named waterfalls within 4 km
caves within 3 km
bus stops within 2 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon · floor	35	35	34	32	29	25	25	26	31	34	34	35
Afternoon · rim	33	33	33	30	27	24	24	25	29	32	32	33
Night · rim	17	18	18	15	12	8	8	8	11	14	15	16
Rain (mm)	14	22	15	14	3	1	1	1	1	3	4	3
Rainy days	4	5	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Sun hours/day	12.6	11.6	11.2	10.6	10.2	9.9	10.3	10.9	11.4	12.2	13.1	13.2

	Afternoon · floor	Afternoon · rim	Night · rim	Rain (mm)	Sun hours/day
Jan	35	33	17	14	12.6
Feb	35	33	18	22	11.6
Mar	34	33	18	15	11.2
Apr	32	30	15	14	10.6
May	29	27	12	3	10.2
Jun	25	24	8	1	9.9
Jul	25	24	8	1	10.3
Aug	26	25	8	1	10.9
Sep	31	29	11	1	11.4
Oct	34	32	14	3	12.2
Nov	34	32	15	4	13.1
Dec	35	33	16	3	13.2

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (744 m) and the rim (1,033 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Cañón Sesriem, Sossusvlei, Namibia, 2018-08-06, DD 186 — Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

SES - Canyon walls and walkway in Sesriem Canyon, Namibia, 2007 — Josep M. Gracia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sesrien Canyon Dunes — Daniel Kraft · CC BY-SA 3.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	4%	45%	31%	117%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	312%	15%	17%	4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2022	280%	148%	29%	2%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2023	85%	103%	4%	59%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2024	57%	14%	34%	0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2025	107%	75%	497%	9%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length	Wikidata (Q49097168) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basin	HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.