National Parks

Etosha National Park in Namibia

Etosha National Park is a vast stretch of verdant countryside and home to the largest variety of mammals and birds in Namibia.

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Everything you need to know about Etosha National Park

Etosha National Park is a vast stretch of verdant countryside and home to the largest variety of mammals and birds in Namibia. Etosha, meaning ‘great white place’, encompasses a massive mirage-inducing salt pan, making up almost a quarter of the 22 750km² park. This shimmering white expanse is so large it can be seen from space. KhoiSan legend reveals that the pan was created when a woman whose only child was killed, cried a river of tears. Her tears were dried by the sun and left the ground sprinkled with salt. There is abundant wildlife and spectacular bird sightings in Etosha, and it is one of the few places where animals still roam freely in the wide-open grasslands.

Where is the park located?

Etosha National Park is located in the north west of Namibia, in the Kunene region, sharing boundaries with Oshana, Oshikoto and Otjozondjupa.

About the park

What type of wildlife will we see?

Etosha National Park is a contrast of golden grasslands and a shimmering salt pan. The diverse vegetation accounts for the abundance of wildlife that thrives in the park. The park is home to some rare wildlife species, such as the black-faced impala, which can be found in breeding and bachelor herds, and the tiny damara dik-dik.

There are an abundance of large mammals in the park including lion, leopard, desert elephant (the largest in Africa), giraffe, wildebeest, cheetah, hyena, and the endangered black rhino. In the wet season, parts of the pan form rainwater pools, drawing thousands of migrating flamingos.

Smaller inhabitants of the park include springbok, jackal, bat-eared fox, honey badger, and warthog.

Top experiences to enjoy at Etosha National Park

There are camps in and around Etosha National Park that offer fantastic game drive safaris to scour the savannah for wildlife, enjoy the vast herds and dazzling white and discover the secret nightlife of the animals at a floodlit waterhole near the main camp.

Etosha is also a great choice for those wanting to embark on a self-drive safari adventure, with well-established roads that are easy to navigate and a vast expansive area to cover with surprises around every corner.

When to visit Etosha National Park

The unrivalled beauty of the remote landscape of Etosha will leave you breathless all year round. The park’s most distinctive and dramatic feature is the huge white salt pan.

From December to May, during the rainy season, the seasonal pan floods attracting up to one million flamingos and an abundance of other migratory birds – a truly magnificent sight to behold.

During the dry season from June to October, the weather is warm and dry and the pan is home to an extraordinary amount of animal life, with vast herds of zebra, giraffe and elephant roaming across its cracked white surface and surrounding savannah in search of waterholes.