Sesriem is a small settlement located in the Namib Desert

Namib Desert

The Namib Desert is a desert in Namibia and southwest Angola that forms part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the largest game reserve in Africa. The name "Namib" is of Nama origin and means "vast place"...

, in Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

, close to the southern end of the Naukluft Mountains

Naukluft Mountains

thumb|222 px|Naukluft, seen from Sesriem The Naukluft Mountains are a massif in central Namibia, forming the easternmost part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. They are known for their wildlife, including mountain zebras and leopards...

. It is especially known because the "Sesriem gate" is the main access point to the Namib-Naukluft National Park for visitors entering the park to visit the nearby tourist attraction of Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia...

. As many "settlements" in the Namib, Sesriem is essentially a filling station

Filling station

A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...

 with basic services such as public telephones and a couple of small kiosk

Kiosk

Kiosk is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. Kiosks were common in Persia, India, Pakistan, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward...

s where travellers can get general supplies such as food and water. In the surroundings of Sesriem there are several accommodations, such as a few lodge

Lodge

- Organizations :* Masonic Lodge, the basic organization of Freemasonry* Orange Lodge, the basic organisation of the Orange Institution* Odd Fellows Lodge, the basic organisation of the Order of Odd Fellows* A local union in some trade unions...

s (e.g., "Le Mirage Desert" and the "Sossusvlei Lodge") and at least 24 campsite

Campsite

A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...

s for backpacker

Backpacker

Backpacker or Backpacking may refer to:* A person participating in** backpacking ** backpacking * A traveler whose luggage consists of a backpack...

s.

By the Sesriem gate, hot air balloon

Hot air balloon

The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...

s depart in the early morning, providing scenic flights over the Sossusvlei dunes.

Sesriem is also known for the Sesriem Canyon, about 4 km from Sesriem itself, which is the second most important tourist attraction in the area after Sossusvlei. It is a natural canyon carved by the Tsauchab

Tsauchab

The Tsauchab is an ephemeral stream in Namibia, in the southern Naukluft Mountains. It is approximately long, and known especially for the portion in which it flows through the Sesriem Canyon....

 rivier

Wadi

Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...

 in the local sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock

Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....

, about a kilometer (0.6 mile) long and up to 30 meters (100 feet) deep. The name Sesriem is Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 and means "six belts", given by settlers returning from the Dorsland Trek

Dorsland Trek

Dorsland Trek is the collective name of a series of northwards explorations undertaken by South African settlers in the second half of the 19th century in search of political independence...

 who had to attach together six belts (made of oryx

Oryx

Oryx is one of four large antelope species of the genus Oryx. Three of the species are native to arid parts of Africa, with a fourth native to the Arabian Peninsula. Their pelage is pale with contrasing dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight...

hides) in order to reach buckets down into the canyon to scoop up water. The Sesriem Canyon is only two meters (6.5 feet) wide in some places, and has a portion that permanently contains water, which many animals use.