Fish River Canyon, Namibia

Best hikes in the world: The Fish River Gorge, Namibia

Author: Alexander Johnson

As we continue our look at AT’s best hikes in the world, this week we turn our attention to a trek on the largest canyon in Africa and one of the largest canyons in the world, Namibia’s stunning Fish River Gorge…

Trekking Fish River Canyon, NamibiaPhoto: Ramon –

For some hot hot sun, try trekking the Fish River Gorge in southern Namibia. It’s only open to hikers in winter (conveniently our summer), when the heat is just about bearable and the silence deafening.

The canyon is the largest in Africa and is roughly 100 miles long, 550m deep and approximately 16 miles wide, so undoubtedly the scale is incredible. There are various viewpoints around the edge of the canyon too, so there is no excuse not to get a fantastic view even if you aren’t tempted to walk along the bottom of it.

Trekking Fish River Canyon, NamibiaPhoto: John Y. Can

What they say about Fish River Gorge

“The first thing people will tell you is that the Fish River Gorge is the second largest canyon in the world,” says trek leader and AT contributor Lorenzo Serafini. “Well it isn’t. But who cares? Walking along its riverbed is immersing yourself in a world apart, bounded by the huge granite walls and starry nights; walking by the few desert plants under the watchful eyes of ever-present baboons. And the canyon looks just the right size.”

Intro photo: Mark Auer

>