Beautiful Etosha National Park, Namibia

The vastness of Namibia’s landscape and the small population of the nation leave most of the country unexplored. And that’s where the real charm of Namibia lies in as most of its forests, landscape and even national parks are unaltered and provide a perfect place to observe the natural goodness of Africa. Talking about the national parks of Namibia, one national park of Namibia is fast becoming a hot favorite of the game viewing enthusiasts worldwide and especially of the South Africans who have chosen this as their favorite summer destination.

This is the gorgeous Etosha National park which has more than 119 species of African mammals and more than 300 species of birds living in it. Its not only the rich and exotic wildlife of Etosho which makes it such a great national park but the gorgeous landscape of the park created by the green and white plains that stretch all across the park.

Located on the northern end of the country the park is easily accessible from Windhoek the capital of Namibia. If you are flying from abroad then either you can take a cheap flight to Windhoek or get to Johannesburg in South Africa and then cross the border by land and visit the park. There is a bus service that runs between Windhoek and Etosha but if you are arriving in the summer season then it will be quite hard for you to get a seat in one if your tour operator has not made a prior reservation for you. You can also hire a car from Windhoek for making this journey. Another and a rather cheaper option will be to travel on a bus to Tsumbe a small city about 110 km from the park and then hire a car from the city for getting to the park.

The area that includes the present day Etosha national park was first explored by the Europeans in the 18^th century but it only rose to fame in the early 20^th century when the German governor of Namibia proclaimed 93000 sq km of area around Etosha as a national park to preserve its landscape and its wildlife. Today the park is not as large as it used to be in those days as in 1970 the Namibian government reduced the park size to 23000 sq. km. The park is divided into three separate parts, you can visit two of the northern parts independently but if you want to visit the third one then you will have to contact a tour operator to arrange it for you.

The biggest wildlife attraction of the park is its cheetahs as it has more number of cheetahs than any other national park of the world. The best way of exploring the park is by traveling in the safari bus that runs between the two corners of the park and makes a few stops along the way to provide the tourists with some stunning game viewing opportunities. The park has a few lodges but you will find most people camping out in the wild as it is much more exciting to spend a night out in the Namibian wilderness than to sleep in the cozy bedrooms of its hotels.