How many days do you need in Uis?

Two nights. One morning goes to the guided walk to the White Lady and the second to a drive in the Ugab riverbed for desert-adapted elephants. A climb of the Königstein adds three days on the mountain.

Do you need a 4x4 around Uis?

A car is essential, and a 4x4 is the safe choice on the gravel roads and sandy tracks. The White Lady trailhead is reached by driving 14 kilometres north on the C35, then 28 kilometres on the D2359. Between Uis and Khorixas the C35 crosses three dry riverbeds, the Ugab, the Aba Huab and the Huab, which can flood after heavy rain.

When is the best time to visit Uis?

July to October, the heart of the dry season, when elephants are found along the rivers and July days peak around 28°C. November is the hottest month, with highs in the mid thirties, and walking is not recommended from November to March.

What language is spoken in Uis?

English, the official language of Namibia.

What currency is used in Uis?

The Namibian dollar, with the South African rand listed alongside it as a second currency. The White Lady trailhead charges an entrance fee and the guides are paid in cash, so carry enough cash for the fee, the guide and any Brandberg permit.

Which airport is closest to Uis?

Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International, WDH, 45 kilometres east of the capital, is the nearest international airport. Walvis Bay, WVB, lies about 15 kilometres east of the town of Walvis Bay on the coast. From the coast, the C35 to Uis starts about 6 kilometres north of Henties Bay, which is 72 kilometres north of Swakopmund.

Uis, Namibia: Once the World's Largest Hard-Rock Tin Mine

Brandberg

Landmark · 2.5 hr

45 minutes on foot up a dry granite gorge takes you to the White Lady, the best known painting on Namibia's highest mountain. Under a rock overhang, a line of human figures and oryx crosses the wall, and some of the figures have antelope features.

View more →

Brandberg Rest Camp

Hotel

The old mine casino in the centre of Uis now holds rooms and a campsite whose pitches have power, a light and their own outside toilet and shower. A bar, a restaurant and a pool are on site, and the shops and the fuel station are close by. The camp also sells the permits needed for hiking on the Brandberg.

Brandberg White Lady Lodge

Hotel

On the bank of the dry Ugab, about 30 kilometres northwest of Uis, basic chalets and campsites sit under camel thorn trees with the Brandberg behind. Desert-adapted elephants live along the riverbed, where water surfaces in pools through much of the dry season, and the lodge's guided drives go out along the river early in the morning to find them. The access road is rough and corrugated.

Uis Tin Mine

Other · 1.5 hr

White spoil dumps on the edge of town, plain from the road and from the streets of Uis, are the waste of what was once the largest hard-rock tin mine in the world. The mine is working again, producing tin and tantalum with expansion under way, and the plant beyond the dumps is a working industrial site, seen from the road.

White Lady Rock Painting

Archaeological Site · 3 hr

Every walk to the painting goes with a guide accredited by the National Heritage Council, assigned at the Tsisab trailhead on arrival. Walks leave daily from eight until mid-afternoon up a boulder-strewn ravine; allow two to three hours for the round trip and carry water. Bags and bottles are not allowed at the painting itself, because visitors have poured drinks over it in the past.