Hiking in Fish River Canyon

Adventurous travellers will love hiking down into the depths of Fish River Canyon. I’ll guide you on a full-day trek through the aptly-named Jelly Legs Gorge, a trail that takes you past epic viewpoints. It’s a challenging hike that involves traversing rock-strewn slopes and scrambling over boulders, but the reward is getting to experience the world’s second-largest canyon. When you hike, you can see the changing layers of sediment up close, the different rock colours and elephant skin weathering.

Along the way, there’s a chance of spotting some of Fish River Canyon’s endemic wildlife, including oryx, kudu and springbok, Hartman’s mountain zebra and the shy rock hyrax. Some guests recently were fortunate to spot a leopard, which is very rare. You’ll also notice birds swooping above, including black eagles. The main focus on the walk, though, is the views and the geology. I’ll also talk about the flora, which includes over 100 types of succulents and quiver trees which can be up to 300 years old.

Eventually, we reach the rock pools at the bottom, where you can cool off with a swim in the heart of the canyon. We enjoy a picnic lunch before making the long climb back up to the lodge – it’s a strenuous eight-to-ten-hour journey all together. If you don’t want to tackle the climb, there are flat canyon rim walks you can take instead from the lodge. Walk them in the morning and late afternoon when the light and shadows play across the rocks, it’s spectacular.