Hidden deep in the Namibian desert lies a ghost town that was once so rich, champagne cost less than water. In the early 1900s, Kolmanskop was one of the wealthiest places in Africa, founded by German settlers who built a thriving town on land where diamonds were literally lying in the sand.
Today, it’s a hauntingly beautiful place where abandoned mansions are slowly being reclaimed by the desert. Sand drifts through broken windows, filling empty hospital corridors and school classrooms all the way up to the windowpanes. Wandering through these forgotten buildings feels like stepping into a dream, frozen in time.
Kolmanskop is now an open-air museum and one of the most beautiful destinations in Namibia. If you’re planning a road trip through the south of the country, we think it’s an absolute must-see. In this blog, we’ll take you through the fascinating history of this once-booming town and give you practical tips to make the most of your visit.
How To Get To Kolmanskop?
Kolmanskop sits in the far south of Namibia, tucked away in a remote stretch of desert between Aus and Lüderitz. From Aus, it’s about a 115-kilometre drive to the coast, while from Lüderitz it’s just a short trip of 10 to 15 minutes. The ghost town lies quite literally in the middle of nowhere, which only adds to its mysterious charm.
Recommended Read: Top 12 Things To Do In Lüderitz
The road between Aus and Lüderitz runs along the B4 highway, a surprisingly well-paved route that cuts through a dry, empty landscape. On the way, you’ve got a good chance of spotting wild desert horses at the Garub viewpoint. These animals are one of a kind in Africa and have fully adapted to life in the harsh desert. If you’re lucky, you might even see them gathering at the waterhole near the roadside.
As you near Lüderitz, you’ll begin to notice the desert reclaiming the land. In the final stretch of the drive, it’s common to see sand dunes spilling onto the road, and sometimes you’ll need to weave your way around them. It feels like a preview of the surreal scenes waiting for you at Kolmanskop.
Kolmanskop is easy to visit from either Aus or Lüderitz. We stayed in both, but Lüderitz was definitely our favourite for a longer stay. This colourful town by the sea is full of character, with its German-style buildings, a few great restaurants, and beautiful natural surroundings. In our Lüderitz travel blog, you’ll find all our tips to help you make the most of your visit.
The History of Kolmanskop: Diamond Fever in the Desert
Kolmanskop may be a ghost town now, but it was once one of the wealthiest places in Africa. And it all started with a single shimmering stone found in the sand.
In 1908, a railway worker named Zacharias Lewala spotted an unusual-looking stone near Lüderitz. He handed it over to his German supervisor, August Stauch, who instantly recognised it as a diamond. Before long, it became clear that the desert was full of them, scattered across the surface and just waiting to be picked up.
Germany wasted no time in claiming the area as a Sperrgebiet, or restricted zone. The region was completely sealed off, and large-scale diamond mining began almost immediately. That restricted zone still exists today, and you still need a permit to enter.
The diamond boom brought enormous wealth. In just the first few years, it’s estimated that five million carats were taken from the desert sands. To offer the German engineers and miners a comfortable way of life, a brand-new town was built from the ground up. This became Kolmanskop, located about 10 kilometres east of Lüderitz.
Voor die tijd was het een stad van ongekende luxe. Er kwamen statige huizen met glas-in-loodramen, een ziekenhuis met een van Afrika’s eerste röntgenapparaten, een ijsfabriek, een bowlingbaan, een gymzaal, een operazaal en zelfs een trammetje. En dat allemaal midden in de woestijn.
💡 Did you know…
For its time, the town was incredibly luxurious. Grand homes were built with stained glass windows, and the hospital was fitted with one of the first X-ray machines in Africa. Interestingly, the X-ray machine wasn’t just used for medical care. It also served as a clever way to check if workers were trying to smuggle diamonds out of the mines. There was an ice factory, a bowling alley, a gym, an opera house, and even a little tram that ran through the streets. And all of it stood right in the middle of the desert.
Kolmanskop Now: a Ghost Town in the Desert
But the success didn’t last. Around 1927, much larger diamonds were found further south, near the Orange River. Mining operations quickly moved to that area, and Kolmanskop began to fade. By 1954, the last remaining residents had packed up and left.
Today, the desert has completely taken over Kolmanskop. Sand pours in through windows and doors, fills hallways and bathrooms, and slowly claims every room. The town is being swallowed, one building at a time. Yet this quiet decay has turned it into one of the most photogenic places in all of Namibia.
💡 Did you know…
Diamonds are still being mined in the Sperrgebiet today, but now they come from the ocean. For decades, strong desert winds have carried diamonds from the land into the sea. These days, special ships equipped with heavy machinery scour the seabed and sift through the sand in search of precious stones. The water is freezing cold and the currents are rough, so the work is far from easy. Even so, it’s believed that millions of carats are still hidden beneath the waves.
Visiting Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop is a truly one-of-a-kind place to visit. Once a lively town, it’s now slowly disappearing beneath the sand. As you explore the old hallways, you’ll see the desert creeping through broken windows and doorways. Some doors stand ajar, blocked by sand piled high like frozen waves. In one house, the sand might reach your knees. In another, it stretches all the way to the ceiling.
Today, Kolmanskop is an open-air museum. With a ticket, you’re free to wander through the buildings at your own pace. A standard ticket costs 180 Namibian dollars (in 2025) and can be bought at the entrance or in advance at the information centre in Lüderitz. From the gate, you drive into the site yourself and park near the main building in the central square. Here you’ll find a café, a small souvenir shop, and an exhibition that tells the story of the town’s remarkable past.
That same building once served as an assembly hall and gym, and it also held a cinema and an opera room. Inside the exhibition, you’ll find old photographs, mining tools, and displays that give a glimpse into life in Kolmanskop, including how people tried to smuggle diamonds. Some gems disappeared into pockets, shoes, or even inside people’s bodies. That’s why Kolmanskop had one of the first X-ray machines in Africa to catch swallowed diamonds before they could be smuggled out.
The site is open daily from 8:00 in the morning until 1:00 in the afternoon. If you want to photograph the town at sunrise or during the golden light of late afternoon, you’ll need a special photo permit. This permit costs 400 Namibian dollars (in 2025) and must be arranged one day in advance. It gives you access from first light, which is the most magical time to see Kolmanskop, especially for photography.
Your entrance ticket also includes a guided tour. The tour takes about 45 minutes and gives you a deeper look at daily life in the town during its peak. You’ll visit places like the old ice factory, the post office, the butcher’s shop, and the bowling alley. Tours run from Monday to Saturday at 9:30 and 11:00 in the morning. On Sundays and public holidays, there is one tour at 10:00 AM.
Tourist Map of Kolmanskop
Must-Visit Buildings in Kolmanskop
As soon as you drive through the gate, the scene unfolds before you. Dozens of partially buried houses stretch out across the sand, their roofs and walls sinking under a thick, windblown layer of desert dust. Kolmanskop is home to more than thirty buildings, but a few of them truly stand out.
At the far edge of the site, you will find the old hospital, known as the Krankenhaus. This is one of the most striking places to see how deeply the sand has taken hold. In the long, echoing hallway, it sometimes piles up past the tops of the doorframes. If you arrive early in the morning, sunlight filters through the windows at a low angle, filling the space with a soft glow and creating a hauntingly beautiful scene of stillness and decay.
Another place you should not miss is the ice factory. In a remote desert town with no electricity, ice was an unimaginable luxury. Every household received a block of ice each day, measuring twenty liters, to keep their food cool in their old-fashioned refrigerators.
💡 Did You Know…
Kolmanskop had its own tram? It wasn’t for passengers, but for delivering large blocks of ice throughout the town. The tracks are still there today, though they are slowly being buried by the drifting desert sand.
On the northern side of the site, you will find the most luxurious homes in Kolmanskop. These double villas once belonged to the mine manager, the architect, and the schoolteacher. They were built on a small hill with views over the surrounding desert. Some bathrooms are still mostly intact, featuring black-and-white tiles that were imported from Europe. In the teacher’s house, the floor is almost completely hidden beneath a thick layer of sand. The desert has nearly claimed the building.
Make sure to explore the main building and everything behind it as well. This part of town was once the recreation hall, combining a gym, a cinema, a theater, and even an opera venue. Yes, that was all possible in the middle of the desert. European opera singers once performed here for an audience of miners and their families. In the same building, you will also find the Kegelclub, or bowling alley. The wooden lanes are still surprisingly well preserved, complete with original decorations on the walls. During your guided tour, you can step inside and imagine how the German diamond workers spent their free time in this remote desert town.
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