Swakopmund ("Mouth of the Swakop") is a city on the coast of western Namibia,[2] 352 km (219 mi) west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road.

Activities like quad biking, camel rides, sky diving, paragliding, and desert day trips are offered in the sand dunes near Langstrand, south of the Swakop River.

Nearby is a farm that offers camel rides to tourists and the Martin Luther steam locomotive, dating from 1896 and abandoned in the desert.

Swakopmund was chosen for the availability of fresh water and a relatively easy connection into the centre of the South West African territory, particularly Otjimbingwe and Windhoek.

Other sites such as Sandwich Harbour and Cape Cross were found unsuitable due to dune belts that block the way to the hinterland.

[4] Swakopmund quickly became the main port for imports and exports for the whole territory and was one of six towns which received municipal status in 1909.

[8] Soon, the harbour created by the "Mole" (breakwater) silted up, and in 1905, work was started on a wooden jetty, but in the long term this was inadequate.

In Swakopmund all harbour activities ceased, central government services disappeared, and the jetty became a pedestrian walkway.

Its moderate climate and location on the Atlantic made it suitable as a holiday resort for the white population of the territory, and the town was re-shaped into a tourism destination.

While this mine 60 kilometres (37 mi) to the east eventually got its own town built, Arandis, logistics and workers' accommodation were first supplied by Swakopmund.

This had an enormous impact on all facets of life in Swakopmund which necessitated expansion of the infrastructure of the town to make it into one of the most modern in Namibia.

[16] A 2008 New York Times article describes the town as having "the dislocating feel of a Baltic Sea resort set in the tropics".

[17] In October 2000, an agreement was signed between the Namibian and People's Republic of China governments to build a satellite tracking station at Swakopmund.

[22] The 2020 local authority election was won by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), an opposition party formed in August 2020.

The cold Benguela Current supplies moisture for the area in the form of fog that can reach as deep as 140 km (87 mi) inland.

[24][25] While this has proved a major hazard to ships – more than one thousand wrecks litter the Skeleton Coast – it is a vital source of moisture for desert life.

The climate is cold for its latitude, which is just northern of Southern Tropics, and summer months (Dec, Jan, Feb) are even colder than 20 degrees Celsius.

[27] In August 2008, filming commenced in Swakopmund on the AMC television series The Prisoner starring Jim Caviezel and Sir Ian McKellen.