WINDHOEK, April 8 — Namibia expects more than 4,000 tourists to descend into the Fish River Canyon as the hiking season commences from May 1 to Sept. 15, a corporate executive announced Thursday.
In preparation for the season, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR), a tourism company, in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism will embark on a route marking and route inspection exercise in the Fish River Canyon from April 12 to 17 in anticipation of the start of the well-known Fish River Canyon hike, NWR spokesperson Nelson Ashipala said.
According to Ashipala, the hiking list is already full and the joint exercise by the two marks the beginning of the Fish River hiking season that will see throngs of tourists undertake the 4- to 5-day guided or unguided hike into the canyon with a total hiking distance of about 86 km.
“Route inspections in the canyon will make navigation easier for tourists and nature lovers as well as make sure that the canyon is fit for hiking. Since the rainy season came to an end, one was not able to determine the amount of water that has flown into the canyon. Inspections will allow NWR to advise tourists on the safest routes and the depth of the pools within the canyon,” he concluded.
The Fish River Canyon is the second largest canyon worldwide after the Grand Canyon in the United States. The Canyon forms part of the state-run Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. The Fish River, with a length of 800 km, is the longest river in Namibia. (Xinhua)
