Living Desert Snake Park

What makes it special

The park is a small reptile centre that has been running in Swakopmund for three decades. It keeps around 69 snakes, venomous and harmless, in glass tanks, along with monitor lizards, tortoises and terrapins. Its main job is teaching visitors, Namibians and tourists alike, about the snakes of Namibia.

The draw is seeing the dangerous ones up close. A black mamba, a Cape cobra, a horned viper, a Cape file snake and a sand racer are among the snakes you can stand right beside, with the glass between you.

Some of the snakes and lizards, exotic species among them, were dumped at the park illegally by unknown owners. It is also an important educational stop for schools from across Namibia.

Visiting

From the entrance, the visit is a slow walk past the glass tanks, snake by snake, with the lizards, tortoises and terrapins along the way. Allow about an hour.

Handling is not allowed. Only a licensed wildlife agent may catch, move or handle the snakes, so everything you see is through the glass.

Saturday is feeding day, and a feeding is the best time to watch. The park generally keeps daylight hours, though times vary, so plan a daytime visit.

Tips

Ask questions as you go. The owner is friendly and knows the collection well, and a few questions turn a row of tanks into a lesson on which Namibian snakes are dangerous.

If your trip goes on into the desert, this is a good place to learn what the local snakes look like before you meet one.