The ground sounds hollow. White plates of clay, curled up at the edges, with cracks in between wide enough to catch a shoe. Above the pan the crest of Big Daddy runs against the sky, and through the morning its shadow crosses the surface like the hand of a clock. Deadvlei is not a landscape, it is a freeze frame.
- Since the trees died
- 600 to 700 years
- On foot from the car park
- a good 1 km
- Walking time, depending on the source
- 10 to 20 minutes
- Floor of the pan
- Calcrete and clay
The trees are there because water once was. After heavy rain the Tsauchab reached this shallow basin, pooled in it, and camel thorn trees grew in the damp clay. Then the dunes moved in front of it. The river took another route, the water stopped coming, and the trees dried out. Under the pan lies a thick layer of calcrete that even deep roots can no longer push through to reach groundwater.
They never rotted. Fungi and bacteria that break down wood need moisture, and there is none here. So the trunks are not petrified either, just dried out and burnt black by the sun. On their age the sources thin out: English Wikipedia gives 600 to 700 years, meaning they died somewhere between about 1340 and 1430, and that is the best documented figure. The 900 years quoted in many places could not be traced to any serious source, the number appears only in travel blogs.
- Time needed
- one to two hours from the car park
- Cost
- covered by the park entry fee
- When
- in the first hour after sunrise
- From Sesriem gate
- 65 km, 75 minutes
Our tipDo not cut straight across the pan. Follow the edge instead and climb a little way up the dune slope, and you see the trees against the red sand rather than against the sky. Allow more time for the walk back through soft sand than for the walk in.
Deadvlei: frequently asked questions
Why are there dead trees in Deadvlei?
At Deadvlei near Sossusvlei the Tsauchab once reached this shallow basin after heavy rain, and camel thorn trees grew in the damp clay. Dunes later moved in front of the site, the river stopped coming, and the trees dried out.
How old are the trees in Deadvlei?
The dead camel thorn trees at Deadvlei died 600 to 700 years ago according to the best documented figure, so roughly between 1340 and 1430. The 900 years quoted so often could not be traced to any serious source.
Why do the trees in Deadvlei not rot?
Deadvlei is too dry for decay, because the fungi and bacteria that break down wood need water. The trunks are not petrified, they are dried out and blackened by the sun.
What is the difference between Deadvlei and Sossusvlei?
Sossusvlei is the pan where the Tsauchab ends and where water still stands in rare years. Deadvlei sits next to it, cut off from the river and dry for centuries, and it is Deadvlei that has the cracked white floor with the dead trees.