The road to Epupa doesn’t let you forget where you are. Forty kilometres of rock formations, baobabs, and dry riverbeds — then the palms appear, a wall of green that means you’ve arrived. Epupa Falls Lodge sits right at the edge of it, on stilts above the Kunene River, close enough that you fall asleep to the sound of the falls.
In 2010, Koos and his team began converting part of the campsite into a proper lodge — five chalets on stilts, built mostly from local materials, positioned for the best possible view of the falls and the birdlife along the river. The deck became a working bar and kitchen. Through it all, the camp survived two fires and the 2011 flood, when the Kunene rose high enough to be felt through the ground.
Koos passed away in October 2023, after more than three decades at Epupa. His son, Marius Verwey, now runs the lodge — carrying forward the same vision his father spent a lifetime building: a small, family-run operation on the river, still close to the community that helped shape it from the start.
Epupa Falls Lodge is still owner-run today. Five river-view chalets on stilts, three budget units, a honeymoon chalet, and riverfront campsites — all on the doorstep of one of Namibia’s most striking waterfalls. It’s a different kind of hospitality than you’ll find further south: smaller, slower, and built by people who never left.
