Luderitz Holidays

Set on the haunting Skeleton Coast, the wind-ravaged town of Luderitz is known for its German heritage and nearby ghost town, Kolmanskop. Luderitz is squeezed between the desert and the oyster-rich waters of the Atlantic, fringed by a seal-studded coastline. The wind provides a constant soundtrack, gusting up to 24 kilometres per hour, a blessing for the annual wind and kitesurfing festival. Built by conquering Germans in the 19th century, you can still smell Bavarian bakeries as you wander the streets of Luderitz and savour the crypt-like quiet of Felsen Kirche, the Lutheran church on Diamond Hill.

Many visitors use Luderitz as a jumping-off point for expeditions to Namibia’s most Instagram-worthy landmark: Kolmanskop. The town was birthed in 1908 after a railway worker discovered a diamond in the area and it quickly became a thriving mining town. In its heyday, Kolmanskop produced 12 percent of the world’s diamonds, until the riches ran out and townspeople fled, abandoning the settlement to the Namib desert. What remains is an eerie ghost town being swallowed whole by shape-shifting dunes, rooms half-submerged with sand – a dream for photographers.

Want to visit Luderitz? Get a taste of German history and diamond-rush-era ghost town vibes by talking to our Namibia experts.