Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Namibia / Khorixas / Wilderness Damaraland Camp
Wilderness Damaraland Camp
Khorixas, Kunene Region, Namibia · Wilderness · High Luxury
Wilderness Damaraland Camp became Namibia's first joint venture between a private tourism operator and a local community when it opened in 1996 in partnership with the Torra Conservancy, whose farmers had been displaced from the Huab Valley decades earlier. The partnership gave the community an equity stake and revenue share that has since helped protect roughly 350,000 hectares of land, now home to recovering elephant, black rhino and lion populations, while the camp itself uses traditional adobe-style thatched suites to blend into the valley.
- 10 rooms
- Opened 1996
About Wilderness Damaraland Camp
- The Torra Conservancy's joint venture with Damaraland Camp won the World Travel & Tourism Council's Tourism for Tomorrow Conservation Award in 2005.
- Before this partnership, the Torra community had been displaced from the Huab Valley in the early 1900s and only returned from South Africa in 1973.
- The venture generated more than N$2 million a year for the Torra Conservancy before the pandemic, funding water wells that keep elephants from raiding the village for water.
- The camp runs its own reverse-osmosis water filtration system to reduce its footprint on the fragile Huab River Valley ecosystem.
History
Established in 1996, Wilderness Damaraland Camp was Namibia's first pioneering partnership between a private operator and a local community, the Torra Conservancy. Over more than 25 years, it has served as a global benchmark for community-conservancy tourism, with revenue flows and employment directly supporting the local residents while protecting the fragile desert ecosystem. The camp's design utilizes traditional indigenous styles and eco-friendly technology to minimize its environmental footprint in the Huab River Valley.
Amenities
- Elevated adobe-style thatched suites with private decks
- Swimming pool with desert vistas
- Fireside boma for traditional dining and song
- Guided desert-adapted elephant and rhino tracking excursions
- Wi-Fi in guest rooms and main areas
- On-site reverse osmosis water filtration system
Awards
- African Responsible Tourism Award, Silver (Best Accommodation for Social Inclusion) (2017)
- WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Award (Conservation) (2005)
- Silver Otter Award (1998)
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