The North Western region of Namibia, also known as Kaokoland, is home to the nomadic groups of proud Himba people who still choose to live a nomadic and traditional lifestyle. They are also referred to as the Kaokovelders. Basically Herero in terms of origin, language and culture, they are semi-nomadic pastoralists who tend to trek from one watering place to another seeking grazing areas for their goat and cattle. They seldom leave their home areas and maintain, even in their dress, a tradition of their own, on which other cultures have made little impression. For many centuries they have lived a relatively isolated existence and were not involved in any significant measure in the long struggle for pasturelands.

They are tall, slender and statuesque people, characterized by their proud yet friendly bearing. The women are noted for their unusual sculptural beauty, with their detailed and intricate hairstyles, and traditional adornments. They rub their bodies with a mixture of red ochre and butterfat, which protects their skins against the harsh desert environment and gives them a red-brown complexion. They use many different hairstyles and dress to illustrate their status, for example the men plait their hair differently to show their marital status. Men, women and children wear body adornments made from iron and shell beads.

Chameleon Safaris includes a himba village experience on the Namibia Kaiedoscope fully accommodated safari where we collect a local guide from Opuwo and visit a local village.   We take gifts for the village such as maize flour, sugar, tobacco, bread and snuff and we are given an insight into life in a modern day himba village.  The villages mostly contain women as the men are out herding cattle or visiting other villages or town.  On very special occassions you may bear witness to one of the special ceremonies such as a wedding, death or circumcision.  The true benefit of visiting a local village is the opportunity to give something back such as an insight into your own life, or to purchase the locally made crafts from the village women.

For those travelling on the Northern Namibia 4x4 Adventure or the Namibian Highlights 4x4 Adventure with Thimbi Thimbi you have the opportunity to visit a local himba village on Day 4 or Day 6 of your itineraries respectively.  On the adventure camping safaris this is an optional activity and the cost is N$650/person and there needs to be a minimum of 2 persons.

Please pre-book this activity when booking your adventure camping safari to avoid disappointment, however please note that all optional activities are subject to availability.