21.07.2019 | Namibia, Travel

Our secret tip for an authentic Himba experience

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We found the most beautiful roads in Damaraland around Brandberg. Red sand roads surrounded by beautiful mountain landscape let us totally fall in love with this area. We were curious if we are able to find an authentic Himba village, without many tourists around. And we found one accidentally! Furthermore, we were so lucky when Eliza, a 19-year old Himba girl, introduced us to her whole family and showed us her original Himba village. We want you to have the best Himba experience, therefore we share the exact place with you!

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1. From the coast to Damaraland – The most beautiful roads around Brandberg

From the cold coastline at Cape Cross, we quickly drove back to the warm inland. The temperature fastly increased driving from the coast towards the East. Starting from 17 degrees, we saw 37 degrees on the thermometer after a few hours drive. When we got out of the car, it felt like a pretty warm dryer. The whole area around Brandberg is called Damaraland.

From Cape Cross at the coast to Uis in Damaraland, we drove through a big sandy desert. The roads and the view from Uis to Palmwag in the North were absolutely fantastic. We highly recommend driving the roads around Brandberg or even to visit the cave paintings at Brandberg. We saw big round rocks alternated by huge sprawling fields and sand roads alternated by a hilly gravel path.

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First Himba and Herero

Between Uis and Khorixas you will see countless stands with Himba and Herero people who will be happy to sell their self-made jewelry. It seems like each Himba tribe has its own street stall. We knew this wouldn’t be the real Himba experience but we stopped anyway. For 300 Namibia Dollar, we got 3 bracelets. The people weren’t unfriendly but they tried to get as much money as they could. They might not show you how they live – it was more about selling their products.

If you want to see how the Himba people actually live and what their traditions are, you will have to look in more remote areas. It is a much better experience for sure! Also, we saw some Herero people dancing in their beautiful dresses trying to sell their jewelry.

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2. The Palmwag-Lodge

After driving through the Brandberg area we stayed the night at the campground of the Palmwag Lodge for 40 Namibia Dollar. It was a really nice place with a wonderful view of the sunset. They have two small pools and an amazing Rhino trekking tour! They also offer day tours with a guide in a safari jeep. Strangely enough, they told us, that there aren’t any authentic Himba villages around, but they were wrong. They told us the Himba people moved North of Epupa Falls. But we found a wonderful Himba tribe the next day on our way to Opuwo.

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3. The roads to Opuwo – Mt. Otjeze

At sunrise, we drove from the Palmwag Lodge up to the North on the C43. The warm light coming up behind the beautiful rocky mountains was fantastic! We passed warm springs, goats, little working villages, tin huts and a few African people herding their cows across the street.

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We were told that the real and wild Africa can be found in the North of Namibia. And we weren’t disappointed! In contrast to the desert landscape in the middle of Namibia, the North is a lot more tropical and has fertile land. There are beautiful trees, bushes, and even wild elephants walking around!! The streets are absolutely beautiful and the surrounding landscape blew our mind. We even saw a little turtle on the street and some monkeys. This is also the place were we accidentally found the perfect authentic Himba village.

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4. Authentic Himba Village – Eliza introduced us to her family

Right after passing the warm spring and Sesfontein, we found the perfect and authentic Himba village (coordinates: –19.0575229 , 13.7470441). When we saw the little beautiful mud huts, we drove slower and a 19-year old girl named Eliza came out and waved us! We stopped and found out that she is talking English pretty good and that its her Himba tribe she grew up in.

It was a wonderful experience and it couldn’t have been more amazing. There weren’t any other tourists and the Himba people really wanted to show us their life! We paid 300 Namibia Dollar to have around one hour with the tribe. They also like to take water, rice, and other food in exchange. We only had a little rice package left in our car.

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At first, we played with the cute little kids and Eliza’s 4 brothers, then Eliza showed us one mud hut from the inside. It takes 2 months to build a cooling mud hut and 4-5 people sleep in it. An older woman showed us how she greases her skin with the red goat milk paste to be protected of the sun. She burned herbs to smell better because Himba women are not allowed to bath. Only a few kids are able to go to school, the other kids help their mothers at home. I was very fascinated by the red paste in her red hair, but the woman was even more fascinated by my blonde long hair. She asked if she can get a blonde hair strand for sticking it into her hair.

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Afterward, we went to a circle of Himba woman who worked on their own jewelry, they didn’t hassle us to buy anything. It was a really friendly and relaxed atmosphere sitting there together with the Himba women. The Himba people are naked, only their genital is covered by some jewelry. But it wasn’t awkward at all, because their red skin and all the jewelry let them look completely dressed.

We mostly saw the woman of the Himba village, I think the men were herding the goats. We highly recommend showing the Himba woman and kids the pictures you made! They love to see them, because they are not used to see themselves. We were so surprised that the kids intuitively swiped on the screen of our camera.

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5. Exploring the African town Opuwo – Herero experience

If you want to visit a real African town in Namibia, you should go to Opuwo. We are still fascinated by this little lively place with almost naked Himba people living directly next to the Herero people in beautiful and colorful Victorian dresses. They are all living peacefully together and the different clothing styles seemed to be totally normal for them! Opuwo has a lot of market stalls, a fuel stop, and a supermarket. A few women tried to sell jewelry and a few kids begged while we refueled our car. There were only a few other tourists, it is not the typical tourist place. However, we would recommend to not leave any bags visible in the car and to stowage your valuables.

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6. Kamanjab – grocery shopping before entering the Etosha National Park

The roads from Opuwo to Kamanjab are unspectacular but fast, however, at a gate they controlled if we have any meat or egg with us. Before entering the Etosha National Park, we went grocery shopping in Kamanjab. There is also a fuel stop and an ATM directly next to it. Keep in mind that you need cash to pay the fee at the Etosha National Park entrance. If you have enough time left, you can enter the National Park at the Galton Gate and sleep at the new Olifantsrus Camp for the first night. We were too late to enter the Park so we stayed in Kamanjab.

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7. Kaoko Bush Lodge in Kamanjab

The night before entering the Etosha National Park we stayed at the beautiful Kaoko Bush Lodge in Kamanjab. They had a cute little pool and we could camp directly next to a fenced waterhole. When it got dark many Orix and even a cheetah came to drink at the waterhole. The cute owner of the Kaoko Bush Lodge borrow us his binocular and it was fantastic to watch the animals from the tent on our car. The next morning we entered the Etosha National Park at the western Galton Gate.

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Is it dangerous? What do I have to know?

It’s not dangerous to drive to the North! We were told to not stop if someone has a car breakdown on the road because it might be simulated to steel something. But I really don’t know if that’s right. All the people were so friendly to us, we didn’t experience any dangerous or uncomfortable situation! Only seeing kids begging for water made us really sad. I think the parents want their kids to beg because they have higher chances that tourists stop for them. However, you shouldn’t leave any valuables or bags in your car and in Opuwo it might be better to lock the car while refueling it.

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