Keetmanshoop District Hospital
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2, 3
Keetmanshoop, //Kharas Region
Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail · Checked October 2026
Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail emergency & health guide: hospitals, rescue and satellite phones
How to call for help where there is no phone signal, the nearest hospital for each of the 5 stages, and the park rules: season, permit and medical certificate, group size, water and fires.
There is no mobile signal anywhere in the canyon, so carry a satellite phone or a satellite messenger. In an emergency call the MEFT park office at Hobas (+264 63 683 445 or 446) or the police on 10111; NWR Hobas (+264 63 683 469) and NWR Ai-Ais (+264 63 683 676) can relay. Say where you are (the nearest river km sign or landmark and, if you can, your GPS coordinates) and what has happened. One person stays with the injured hiker while another goes for help. Rescue is usually by helicopter and can take many hours.
Emergency numbers
| Number | What it is |
|---|---|
| +264 63 683 445 | Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) office at Hobas, also +264 63 683 446: the park authority. First call from a satellite phone for an injured, lost or stranded hiker; it sends rangers and vehicles to the exits. |
| 10111 | Namibian Police, 24/7. Outside Windhoek this is also the number for an ambulance. Police coordinate helicopter rescues in the canyon. |
| +264 63 683 469 | NWR Hobas, at the start of the trail (also +264 81 144 3478) |
| +264 63 683 676 | NWR Ai-Ais, at the end of the trail, where hikers sign out (also +264 63 683 682). Report overdue hikers here. |
| 924 | E-Med Rescue 24, private road and air ambulance, toll-free from Namibian mobiles (also +264 81 203 4300). Check that your insurance covers air evacuation. |
There is no mobile signal in the Fish River Canyon, so carry a satellite phone or a satellite messenger (such as an inReach) and save these numbers before you start. NWR lists emergency exits at Hikers' Point, Sulphur (Palm) Springs, the Low Water Bridge and Four Fingers, with patrol vehicles on the access tracks; the Sulphur Springs exit is a hard climb. Do not try to climb out anywhere else. One person stays with the injured hiker, another goes for help. Rescue is usually by helicopter and can take many hours.
Rules to know
- Season: the trail is open only from 1 May to 15 September; outside it the canyon is too hot and flood-prone. High water can delay or interrupt the season: in 2026 it opened on 15 May, closed on 21 June after dam water was released and reopened on 17 July. Check NWR news before you travel.
- Permit: book through Namibia Wildlife Resorts (reservations@nwr.com.na) months ahead. The hiking fee is N$540 per person (2026–27), and groups must have at least 3 and at most 30 people.
- Park entry is paid per person per day on top of the permit. From 1 April 2026 the ǀAi-ǀAis fee is N$280 for foreign adults, N$180 for SADC citizens and N$60 for Namibians; children aged 9–15 pay less and 8 and under are free. Card machines at Hobas can fail, so carry cash.
- Every hiker needs a recent medical certificate of fitness signed by a doctor (NWR sends the form) and a signed indemnity. Show them at the MEFT office at Hobas before you start, and sign out at Ai-Ais. Children under 12 are not allowed.
- Fires are not allowed in the canyon: carry a gas or liquid-fuel stove. Carry out all rubbish, and bury toilet waste and paper in a hole in soft sand well away from the water.
- Water: the river and its pools are the only water, and late in the season some pools are low or stagnant. Treat all water and carry at least 3–4 litres each. If you walk more than 8 km without seeing water, you are lost: turn back.
- Heat: start at first light and rest in the shade at midday. In 2025 a hiker died of exhaustion near Ai-Ais and a group of 13 was evacuated by helicopter with dehydration. Never leave a slow or unwell hiker alone.
- Stay on the river route and the known shortcuts, which are marked with cairns and painted arrows; do not invent your own. Do not cross deep standing water, and help each other on slippery crossings.
- Transport: there is no public transport. NWR runs a shuttle from Ai-Ais to Hobas (N$500 per person, 2026–27), and Canyon Lodge runs private transfers to Hikers' Point and Ai-Ais. Hikers' Viewpoint is 10–13 km by gravel road from Hobas.
- Do not feed animals, pick plants or disturb wildlife, and leave every camp cleaner than you found it. Pets are not allowed in Namibian national parks.
Nearest hospital for each stage
| # | Stage | Hospital (24/7 emergency) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hikers' Viewpoint → Palm Springs | Keetmanshoop District Hospital |
| 2 | Palm Springs → Table Mountain | Keetmanshoop District Hospital |
| 3 | Table Mountain → Three Sisters | Keetmanshoop District Hospital |
| 4 | Three Sisters → Fool's Gold Corner | Karasburg State Hospital |
| 5 | Fool's Gold Corner → Ai-Ais | Karasburg State Hospital |
Hospitals
Mediclinic Windhoek – Emergency Department
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Heliodoor Street, Eros, Windhoek
Karasburg State Hospital
- 24/7 emergency
- Stages 3, 4, 5
Johannes Nangura Street, Karasburg
Pharmacies, cash and supplies
- Pharmacies:
- ATMs:
- Shops: Ai-Ais
- Shuttles:
There is no pharmacy at Hobas, in the canyon or at Ai-Ais, and no published duty-pharmacy rota in southern Namibia. The nearest pharmacies are in Keetmanshoop. Buy all your medicines, oral rehydration salts, blister care, sunscreen and water purification tablets in Windhoek, Keetmanshoop or South Africa before you go, and carry a power bank.
Pharmacies, ATMs, shops and stops: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hospitals and health centres checked online.
Have the nearest help on your map, offline
Outest shows these hospitals, pharmacies, ATMs and stops on the Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail map, offline, together with the route, water and places to sleep.