Fish River Canyon

Fish River Canyon: History & Culture

Discover Fish River Canyon

Quick facts

• Length: about 160 km
• Width: up to 27 km
• Depth: up to about 550 m
• Standing: Africa’s largest canyon, and Namibia’s second most-visited attraction

How it formed

The canyon’s story stretches back about 650 million years, when plate movement opened a north-south graben that let an ancient river begin to flow. Glaciation roughly 300 million years ago deepened the gorge further, and about 60 million years ago the uplift that came with the break-up of Gondwana steepened the river’s gradient again, letting it cut down through hard gneiss bedrock into the dramatic gorge visitors see today.

The multi-day hike

The canyon’s best-known route is a 90 km trail along the river floor from Hobas to ǀAi-ǀAis, usually walked over five days. It is strictly seasonal, open only from 1 May to 15 September because of extreme heat and flash-flood risk outside those months. Hikers must be at least 12 years old, carry a medical fitness certificate, and book through Namibia Wildlife Resorts in a group of 3 to 30 people. There are no facilities and no mobile reception anywhere on the route, which crosses the riverbed more than 20 times over boulders and sand — this is a serious wilderness hike, not a casual walk, and it is fully closed outside the permitted season.

Beyond the multi-day hike

Not every visitor wants a five-day wilderness trek, and the canyon rewards a short stop too: the main viewpoint near Hobas gives a sweeping view down into the gorge and is open to day visitors year-round, needing no permit or fitness certificate, and is easily combined with a scenic drive rather than a hike.

ǀAi-ǀAis: hot springs at the trail’s end

The hike’s finishing point, ǀAi-ǀAis, takes its name from the Khoekhoe for ‘fire-fire’ — ‘scalding hot’ — describing thermal springs that flow at around 60°C and carry sulphur, chloride and fluoride, traditionally valued for easing rheumatism. Local legend credits a Nama shepherd with finding the springs in 1850 while searching for stray sheep; German troops used the site as a base camp from 1903 to 1907, and South African forces recuperated there in 1915. Declared a national monument in 1964, the springs got a rest camp the following year, formally inaugurated on 16 March 1971, and today pipe their thermal water into a series of indoor pools and jacuzzis at a resort that has weathered major floods in 1972, 1974 and 1988. The resort’s waters also support yellowfish and barbel, giving hikers who finish the trail a literal hot soak and a spot of fishing to look forward to.

Getting there, and nearby Keetmanshoop

Most visitors view the canyon from the rim near Hobas, reached by gravel road from Keetmanshoop or Grünau in southern Namibia’s ǁKaras Region. Keetmanshoop, the ǁKaras Region’s administrative capital with a 2023 population of 27,862, began in 1866 as a Rhenish Missionary Society mission station, named after the German trader Johann Keetman who funded it; its older Nama name, ǂNūǂgoaes, means ‘black mud’, after local iron-rich springs. It makes a natural staging point on the way to or from the canyon, and sits near two quiver tree forests — one a national monument — and the dolerite rock formations of the Giant’s Playground, formed some 180 million years ago, both worth a stop for travellers with a spare hour or two. Grünau, the smaller of the two gateway towns, was established in 1902 and sits at a junction linking Namibia to the South African border posts near Noordoewer (via the B1) and near Nakop (via the B3), making it a natural overnight stop for travellers approaching the canyon from South Africa.

Access note: the hiking trail is closed 16 September to 30 April every year, and permits, a medical certificate and a minimum group size of three are compulsory even in season — this is not a walk-up trail.