Information on Sossusvlei shuttle services and Deadvlei access
Rule Changes for Self-Drivers at Sossusvlei.
After months of uncertainty government have clarified that self-drive vehicles will no longer be allowed to navigate the final 6km of 4x4 sand track to the Vlei’s. Self-drivers will from the 1st May be required to leave their cars at the 2x4 carpark and use the private 4x4 shuttle service to the Sossusvlei carpark. Lodges in the surrounding vicinity will continue to have normal access into Sossusvlei. Privately guided tours operated by NTB registered operators like ourselves, will also no longer be allowed beyond the 2x4 carpark.
In principle ATI has no problem with directive and is something we generally recommend for self-drivers anyway. Over tourism, resulting in environmental degradation of the World Heritage Site is a concern, and we trust this move will help protect our delicate, desert ecosystem. We just hope that the one private operator mandated to operate this service has the capacity to handle peak season demand.
A link the ministries full press release is here.