Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Namib Desert in the west and orange dunes of the Kalahari in the east, Southern Namibia is a land of wide open spaces and solitude. It offers a diversity of unique attractions ranging from historical buildings and ghost towns to fossils and quiver tree forests. The region is a new tourist destination and there are a host of up coming hotels and lodges that show the guest exactly what the south has to offer. The main attraction of the southern region is the Sossusvlei, a clay pan formed when the shifting dunes of the Namib smothered the course of the Tsauchab River. Surrounded by majestic star-shaped dunes with curvaceous lines, the pan and the surrounding dunes are especially breathtaking in the early hours.