{"id":10391,"date":"2026-05-24T06:12:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T06:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/?page_id=10391"},"modified":"2026-05-24T11:46:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T11:46:35","slug":"fish-river-canyon","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/namibia\/fish-river-canyon\/","title":{"rendered":"Fischfluss Canyon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world by volume. From the main viewpoint at Hobas, the canyon stretches away in both directions further than the eye can follow: 160km long, up to 27km across, dropping up to 550 metres from the rim to the river below. The scale is one of those things that photographs compress and the eye at the rim does not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The canyon was carved by the Fish River over hundreds of millions of years through some of the oldest exposed rock on Earth. Precambrian basement gneiss estimated at 1,800 million years old. The geological story visible in the canyon walls makes it one of the most significant geological sites in southern Africa, and the remote character of the landscape means it is visited by a fraction of the numbers that the Grand Canyon receives despite a comparable geological drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The canyon is managed by NWR as part of the wider Ai-Ais\/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. Access is via the Hobas rest camp in the north or the Ai-Ais hot springs resort at the southern end. The multi-day hiking trail that connects the two is one of Africa’s great long-distance walks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Main Viewpoint<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Hobas viewpoint and its surrounding rim road provide the principal visitor experience for those not hiking. From the main viewpoint, the full canyon depth and a significant section of the canyon length are visible simultaneously. The light at dawn and dusk is exceptional: the rock changes colour from grey to gold to deep orange as the sun moves, and the scale is most apparent in the long shadows cast across the canyon floor in the early morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full guide:<\/strong> Hobas viewpoints<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Hiking Trail<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail is 85km from the northern start to Ai-Ais, typically completed in 4 to 5 days. It is one of Africa’s most demanding multi-day hikes: deep sand on the canyon floor, extreme heat in summer, no rescue services, and a minimum group size of three with a medical certificate required. It is available May to September only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the right visitor, experienced, fit, and prepared, the hiking trail is a wilderness experience of the first order. The canyon floor is genuinely remote; the silence is total; and the geological scenery over five days of walking is extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full guide:<\/strong> Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ai-Ais Hot Springs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the southern end of the canyon, the Ai-Ais hot springs resort provides thermal pools (60\u00b0C source temperature, cooled to bathing temperature in the pools) in a setting of palm trees and canyon walls. It is the end point of the hiking trail and a destination in its own right for day visitors and those staying at the resort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full guide:<\/strong> Ai-Ais hot springs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nearby: Quivertree Forest and Giants’ Playground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

75km north of Hobas near Keetmanshoop, the Quivertree Forest holds one of the largest concentrations of kokerboom (Aloidendron dichotomum<\/em>) outside their natural range. The forest is photographically extraordinary at dawn and dusk. The Giants’ Playground adjacent contains massive dolerite rock formations. Both are worth a half-day from Keetmanshoop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full guide:<\/strong> Quivertree Forest<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anreise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hobas is 170km north of the South African border at Noordoewer and 176km south of Keetmanshoop on the B4\/C37. The approach from Sossusvlei takes approximately 6 hours via Maltah\u00f6he or the B4. From Cape Town, it is approximately 900km.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full guide:<\/strong> Getting to Fish River Canyon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plan With Mat-Travel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contact Mat-Travel<\/a> for Fish River Canyon programme planning and accommodation booking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Useful Links<\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fish River Canyon accommodation<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the canyon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fish River Canyon to L\u00fcderitz<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fish River Canyon photography guide<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sossusvlei to Fish River Canyon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fish River Canyon wildlife<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world by volume. From the main viewpoint at Hobas, the canyon stretches away in both directions further than the eye can follow: 160km long, up to 27km across, dropping up to 550 metres from the rim to the river below. The scale is one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":9741,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"slim_seo":{"title":"Fischfluss Canyon","description":"Plan your Fish River Canyon visit, the main viewpoints, the 85km hiking trail, Ai-Ais hot springs, Quivertree Forest, and practical logistics for southern Namibia's most dramatic destination."},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10391","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"trip-thumb-size":false,"destination-thumb-size":false,"destination-thumb-trip-size":false,"activities-thumb-size":false,"trip-single-size":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"trp-custom-language-flag":false,"wte-embed-list-image":false,"wte-embed-grid-image":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"MatAdmin","author_link":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/author\/getlostinnamibiawithus\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon in the world by volume. From the main viewpoint at Hobas, the canyon stretches away in both directions further than the eye can follow: 160km long, up to 27km across, dropping up to 550 metres from the rim to the river below. The scale is one of…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10391"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10540,"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10391\/revisions\/10540"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mat-travel.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}