Village · Khomas, Namibia
Solitaire
A fuel stop, bakery and general dealer where the C14 meets the C19 on the edge of the Namib, the only petrol between Sossusvlei and the coast, and still known for its apple crumble.
Short answer
Solitaire is in Khomas, Namibia. This page lists 3 places to stay and 1 places to eat and drink. The nearest park with an entry fee on this site is Namib-Naukluft National Park, about 116 km away, where international adults pay from N$150.
- Malaria
- Malaria is rare in Khomas and the other central and southern regions.
- Places to stay
- 3
- Eat and drink
- 1
- Park fee nearby: Namib-Naukluft National Park
- US$9 €8 · N$150about 116 km away
In and around Solitaire
4 places listedWhere to stay in Solitaire 3
Restaurants and cafes 1
- Cafe van der LeeRestaurant · international+264 06 329 3619solitairenamibia.com
Solitaire isn’t really a town. It’s a farm settlement on the edge of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, at the junction of the C14 and the C19, with a filling station, a general dealer, a bakery, a café, a motel and a campsite. Nearly everyone driving between Sossusvlei, Windhoek and Swakopmund stops here, partly for fuel and partly for the apple crumble the late Moose McGregor made famous.
Getting there
Solitaire is on the C14, the long gravel road from Walvis Bay south to Maltahöhe and Goageb. The C19 forks off here for Sesriem, 83 km away, and Sossusvlei is a further 60 km past the Sesriem gate. From Windhoek, the dramatic way down is the Spreetshoogte Pass, the steepest in Namibia, which drops almost 1,000 m in 4 km. That road reaches the C14 about 9 km before Solitaire. Trailers, trucks and caravans are not allowed on it.
All of these roads are gravel. The C14 is often in poor shape and is not a road for a sedan, and the C19 south over Tsaris Pass to Maltahöhe carries the usual advice to use a 4x4.
When to go
Figures for the settlement itself are hard to find. In the Naukluft mountains just to the south, summer days on the low ground reach 35 to 40 degrees, and winter nights often bring frost. Rain comes in storms between December and April (some years hardly any falls) and can leave the gravel in a bad state, so the dry months are easier driving. Bring something warm for winter evenings.
What to do
Mostly, eat. McGregor’s Desert Bakery still sells Moose McGregor’s apple pie (most travellers call it apple crumble), along with meat pies, sandwiches and coffee. Cafe van der Lee does lunch and dinner and is named after the Dutch writer Ton van der Lee, who once ran the place and wrote a book about his time here. The Tsondab General Dealer has supplies, a bottle store and an ATM.
The small Dutch Reformed church, finished in 1951, is still in use. Solitaire’s two farms belong to the Solitaire Land Trust, which is opening up old cattle farms between the escarpment and the desert so wildlife can move freely again. Lodge guests can walk or cycle the farm roads and foothill trails, join a sundowner drive, or take a guided tour of a cheetah sanctuary for animals from illegal breeding that are too tame to release.
Good to know
- Fill up. Solitaire is the only petrol stop between Sossusvlei and Swakopmund, and the only other fuel near the dunes is at Sesriem. Tyre repairs are done here too.
- Malaria is rare in Khomas. The CDC advises avoiding mosquito bites and recommends no tablets for this area.
- The UK government says accidents on gravel are common. Keep to 80 km/h or less in the January to April rains, carry two spare tyres and don’t drive outside towns after dark.
- Solitaire Lodge has been renamed Solitaire Roadhouse, so older maps and guidebooks may use the old name.
History and culture
Solitaire is a farm settlement, not a town. It began in 1948, when Willem Christoffel van Coller bought a stretch of undeveloped land called Areb from the South West Africa administration to farm karakul sheep, and it became a stopover because so few people live anywhere near it. Around it is older and harder history: the Naukluft mountains to the south, where Hendrik Witbooi's Nama fought the German colonial army, and the wars and decades of foreign rule that came after.
- 1893 to 1894
After a German attack on their stronghold at Hornkranz in 1893, Hendrik Witbooi's Nama (the Khoekhoe-speaking people of the south) fell back into the Naukluft mountains, whose year-round springs and rough ground had long made them a refuge. In August 1894 the Schutztruppe (the German colonial army) fought them there, and after heavy losses Witbooi signed a treaty of protection with the Germans in September 1894. source
- 1904 to 1905
On 3 October 1904 Witbooi and the Nama rose against German rule again, after fighting alongside the Germans against the Herero earlier that year. Witbooi was killed in action near Vaalgras on 29 October 1905, and he is now one of Namibia's national heroes. source
- 1904 to 1908
The German war against the Herero and Nama is recognised as genocide. Around 80,000 Herero and 10,000 Nama, about half of all Nama, died. source
- 1915 to 1948
South African forces ended German rule in 1915, and in 1920 the League of Nations gave South Africa the territory to govern. After the National Party came to power in South Africa in 1948, it applied apartheid to South West Africa as well. source
- 1940s
During the Second World War the farmer Nicolaas Spreeth of Ubib, at the foot of the escarpment, built the Spreetshoogte Pass by hand, lining old zebra paths with white quartzite and using dynamite to clear the way up to the bus stop where his goods were dropped. source
- 1948 to 1968
Van Coller farmed karakul on 33,000 hectares, built a two-room cottage, a farmhouse, a stone kraal (livestock pen) and a dam, then the shop and the first petrol pump. The shop doubled as the post office for weekly mail bags. A small chapel was started in 1948 and finished in 1951. In 1968 the farm was sold to a Mr Maritz, and it has changed hands many times since. source
- 1966 to 1990
SWAPO (the South West African People's Organisation) began its armed struggle against South African rule in 1966, part of what became the South African Border War. Namibia became independent on 21 March 1990. source
- 1990s to 2014
Moose McGregor opened a bakery at Solitaire in the mid 1990s and made the settlement famous for its apple cake. He died suddenly on 18 January 2014 and was buried in a small park in Solitaire. source
- Language
- Rural Khomas, where Solitaire lies, is farm country with few people. In the 2023 census Khoekhoegowab (the Nama and Damara language) was the main home language in about 37% of rural households and Afrikaans in about 26%. source
- The church
- The small Dutch Reformed church is still used by the local congregation and doubles as the community hall, hosting farmers' union meetings, elections and health clinics. source
- Padkos
- Padkos is Afrikaans for food for the road, and Solitaire's general store and bakery are where travellers on the C14 have long stocked up on it, from bread and muffins to the apple crumble. source
- In literature
- The Dutch writer Ton van der Lee spent three years in Namibia and wrote the book Solitaire (2001) about his stay. It is one of his best known books, and an English translation came out in 2018. source
For German visitors: From 1940 the German geologists Henno Martin and Hermann Korn lived for two and a half years in the Namib around the Kuiseb Canyon to avoid internment as enemy aliens by the South African government. Martin's memoir, known in English as The Sheltering Desert, was first published in German in 1957. source
For German visitors: Karakul sheep, the breed Solitaire was founded to farm, were first brought to the territory by German colonists in the early 20th century. Their lamb pelts were sold as Swakara, short for South West Africa Karakul. source
For German visitors: The name Naukluft, the range just south of Solitaire, is the Namibian German form of the Afrikaans noukloof, a narrow ravine. Kluft is the German word for a ravine or chasm. source
For German visitors: Namib-Naukluft National Park, which borders Solitaire, goes back to Game Reserve No. 3, proclaimed by the German colonial administration in 1907. source
Main sights in Solitaire
5- Solitaire Dutch Reformed church
The small chapel begun in 1948 and finished in 1951 is still used by the local congregation and as the community's meeting hall.
Wikipedia: Solitaire, Namibia - The old car wrecks
Old American cars, Chevrolets and Fords among them, have been left to rust at Solitaire, a leftover from the days when it was little more than a frontier stop.
Travel News Namibia: Windhoek to Sossusvlei via the mountain passes (Dec 2011 / Jan 2012) - McGregor's Desert Bakery
Still selling Moose McGregor's apple pie, with meat pies, sandwiches and coffee on a shaded patio.
Solitaire Namibia (the settlement's own site) - Tropic of Capricorn sign
A road sign on the C14 north of Solitaire marks 23 degrees 30 minutes south, the southern edge of the tropics.
Wikipedia: C14 road (Namibia) - Kuiseb Canyon
The C14 crosses the Kuiseb Canyon on its way north to Walvis Bay. The German geologists Henno Martin and Hermann Korn sheltered in the area during the Second World War, and the ruins of their shelter can be visited.
Wikipedia: Kuiseb River
Did you know?
- Elsie Sophia van Coller chose the name for its two meanings: a solitaire is a single set diamond, and the word also suggests solitude. source
- The popular story that Solitaire is named for having just one house is probably wrong, because there were always several buildings. In 2013 it had 92 residents, and the church has had its own organ since 1979. source
- When a Travel News Namibia writer stopped in 2011, Moose McGregor had sold 200 kg of apple crumble by noon and was baking the next batch. source
- Moose McGregor once said he settled in Solitaire because he liked the barking geckos and the stars. source
- The Spreetshoogte Pass on the back road from Windhoek is Namibia's steepest, with gradients of 1:4.5 to 1:6, and drops almost 1,000 m in 4 km. source
Checked 7 October 2026.
Wildlife you might see
6- likelyCheetah (rescued, not wild)Only on the guided tour of the Solitaire cheetah sanctuary, home to cats from illegal breeding that are too habituated to releasesource
- possibleHartmann's mountain zebraOn the Solitaire farms between the escarpment and the edge of the Namib. All yearsource
- possibleGemsbok (oryx)Across the Namib-Naukluft park, which borders Solitairesource
- possibleSpringbokOn the road from the Sesriem gate to Sossusvlei, where they often crosssource
- possibleBarking geckoAround the settlement. Moose McGregor named them as one of the reasons he settled heresource
- rareLeopardThe rocky country of the park and its edgessource
Likelihood is for a normal visit of two or three days, from the sources linked. Nothing is guaranteed in the wild.
Hikes and walks
1- Solitaire foothill trails and farm roads
Trails in the foothills for all fitness levels, and a network of farm roads for walking and mountain biking. The farms are an unfenced nature reserve, so the animals you meet are wild.
Permit: For guests of the Solitaire lodges
Solitaire Namibia (the settlement's own site)
Staying safe in Solitaire
- Malaria
- Malaria is rare in Khomas and the other central and southern regions. The CDC recommends mosquito bite precautions only, with no tablets, outside the northern and eastern regions it names. source
- Gravel roads
- Every road into Solitaire is gravel. The UK government says accidents on gravel are common, and advises keeping under 80 km/h when roads are bad in the January to April rains, carrying two spare tyres and plenty of water, and not driving outside towns at night because of wildlife and livestock. source
- Speed
- Most crashes in and around the park involve tourists driving too fast, often ending with a burst tyre. Gravel roads carry a 100 km/h limit, but on most of them that speed is not safe. source
- Spreetshoogte Pass
- The pass drops almost 1,000 m in 4 km at gradients up to 1:4.5. Trailers, trucks and caravans are banned, so tow on another route. source
- Heat and cold
- Summer days on the low ground near the Naukluft reach 35 to 40 degrees, while winter nights often freeze. Carry water in summer and pack a warm layer in winter. source
- Fuel
- Solitaire is the only petrol stop between Sossusvlei and Swakopmund, so fill up here whichever way you are heading. source
Tips from travellers
- Stop at the bakery even if your tank is full. People have done that for years, just for Moose McGregor's apple crumble. one source
- Drive the Spreetshoogte Pass from Windhoek westwards, downhill. You get the view of the Namib ahead of you and spare the car a hard climb, and a sign suggests 20 km/h on the way down. one source
- Leave enough daylight for the 83 km of the C19 to Sesriem. The road narrows through several farm gates, and like every gravel road here it is best not driven after dark. one source
- Buy padkos (food for the road) at the general dealer. Places to stay are few and far between until you reach the Sesriem area. one source
Checked 7 October 2026. Conditions change, so confirm with the park or venue before you go.
Guides for Solitaire
Map of Solitaire
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