The Petrified Forest can be seen on the route between Khorixas or Twyfelfontein. Allow for a maximum of one hour.

Accommodation can be found around Twyfelfontein or in the vicinity of Khorixas. There is a small kiosk at the Petrified Forest which sells soft drinks. Travellers should carry cash to pay for entry to the site.

Timing
The Petrified Forest should be visited in the morning or in the late afternoon, as the temperatures can be very hot, even in midwinter. Photographs will also come out better if taken at these times.

Clothing
The terrain is rocky, so shoes with strong support for ankles and good rubber soles that provide a firm grip should be worn. As a precaution against the sun, the traveller should wear a hat and should use sun screen lotion.

Local guides
Local guides are required at the Petrified Forest. A small fee is payable. The guides are trained by the National Monuments Council.

Protection of the sites
Under no circumstances should the traveller remove anything. Use of water or beverages to enhance photography is strictly forbidden, as is touching the artefacts.

Photography
The best times for photography are in the early morning and late afternoon.

Fuel
Although fuel is available from lodges in the vicinity, the traveller should not rely on this, and should fill up and check oil and water at the last town on the route into Twyfelfontein, particularly Henties Bay, Uis or Khorixas.

Sun
Sunscreen and a hat should be used.

Cool box
During summer, temperatures can reach up to 44 degrees Celsius, so a cool box is essential for comfort in the car. Refreshments can be purchased at the Petrified Forest site.

Photographic supplies
Ensure that enough flash memory cards or film stock is on hand. Lenses should ideally be UV coated. A wide angle and macro lens will be useful at the site.

The Petrified Forest site is subject to the rules of the National Monuments Council. Travellers are accompanied around the site by a community guide trained by the National Monuments Council. However, of particular note are that nothing must be removed from the site and that no fluids must be sprayed on the specimens on display for the purposes of enhancing photography.

* Examples of petrified trees
* Male and female Welwitschia mirabilis plants
* Other plant species common to the Damaraland area, such as the deadly Euphorbia plant
* Some mineral samples are on sale

The Petrified Forest consists of the fossilised remains of trees that flourished approximately 280 million years ago and that were washed down to the present site by a large river or a flood. Time has turned the trunks to stone.

The traveller arrives at the site, and is escorted by a trained local guide on a circular walk around the site. In addition to the petrified wood, the traveller will also see Welwitschia mirabilis plants, deadly Euphorbia plants and other plants common to the vicinity.

The site is managed by the National Monuments Council. A fee will be charged.

* Twyfelfontein
* Brandberg
* Uis
* Etosha
* Waterberg
* Cape Cross
* Swakopmund
* Windhoek
* Okahandja
* Khorixas
* Kaokoland

The Petrified Forest can be reached in a small 2 X 4 sedan.

From the Twyfelfontein turn-off
* Follow the D2612 to the C39 (approx. 15 km).
* Head east along the C39. The site will be signposted on the left (approx. 15 km).

From Khorixas
* Head west along the C39 past the turn-offs to the D2628 (on the left) and the D2625 (on the right) The site will be signposted on the right (approx. 69 km).

* Twyfelfontein
* Brandberg
* Uis
* Etosha
* Waterberg
* Cape Cross
* Swakopmund
* Windhoek
* Okahandja
* Khorixas
* Kaokoland

Mowani Mountain Camp
Ultra-luxury suite, luxury room, 4 double 'Meru' view tents, 8 double 'Meru' standard tents, desert elephants, Petrified Forest, Organ Pipes,  Burnt Mountain, Twyfelfontein.

About 280 million years ago, a stand of trees was carried away by the force of raging waters to the place now known as the Petrified Forest. Time and the forces of the earth turned these trees to stone, preserving a perfect record of the past. And alongside these trees stand more modern plants; the living fossil plant, Welwitschia mirabilis, and the Euphorbia, whose deadly sap is used to make poison for the arrows of Bushman hunters.

The Petrified Forest is the remnant of a stand of trees that grew to 30 m tall, some 280 million years ago.

They were washed to the site by a rapidly flowing river or a flood. The reason that we know that they were washed along to the site is because there are no smaller branches. If they had fallen where they stood, the branches would have remained. However the action of the water broke off all the smaller branches.

It is believed that a flood may have been caused by melting as one of the earlier ice ages came to an end. So strong was the force of the water, that the tree trunks appear to have snapped from their roots.

The trees were buried under a layer of mud, and were protected from insects and bacteria that lead to normal decomposition. Later, the area was covered in a very deep layer of sand and rock. The pressure caused the silica stone around the trees to dissolve. However the dissolved stone contained acids that ate away at the soft material of the tree trunks. The space occupied by the tree trunks was filled with the dissolved stone that later hardened, leaving an almost perfect record of the trees at the time. Erosion by water and wind has exposed them for us to see, once again.

The trees are members of the ancient Cordaites tree family. They are gymnosperms, distantly related to the Welwitschia mirabilis and the conifers and ferns of the present day.

The The Welwitschia plant, Welwitschia mirabilis, was first observed by Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch in 1860 in the northern Namib Desert in the southern part of Angola. The oldest living specimens are estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old. Due to the great age of the plant, it is also known as ‘the fossil plant’, and has become one of Namibia’s well-known attractions.

The Welwitschia is a national symbol of Namibia, appearing on the national coat of arms.

The plant (grows mainly in isolated pockets from the Kuiseb River to just south of Mossamedes in Angola) Some of the larges specimines are found on the Welwitschia Plains in the Namib Naukluft Park, 50 km east of Swakopmund, where the Khan and Swakop Rivers meet. In areas such as the Petrified forest smaller specimens are found.

One of the largest plants, the Pforte Welwitschia can be seen in this area. It is 1,2 m high and has a diameter of slightly less than 9 m.

The Welwitschia is not a particularly attractive looking plant. Its attraction lies in the great age that it reaches, and the magnificent manner in which it has adapted to the very dry environment.

The stem of the Welwitschia splits in two. A wide leaf grows from the each side of the stem of the plant. These two leaves split as they grow, resembling many smaller leaves. The leaves are very wide and may grow to a length of as much as 6 m. The points of the leaf furthest from the plant die, while those areas nearest the (stem)leaf are still green.

The plant survives in very dry conditions with less than 25 mm annual rain and 50 mm fog and mist condensation. In order to make the best use of the very small amount of water, the plants leaves have adapted to gathering water in addition to water gathering by the roots. Pores on the leaves, known as stomata, open when the fog and mist come in, and close when it gets hotter.

The leaves of the plant have other interesting uses. They help to keep the ground around the plant cool so that water does not evaporate as quickly, and they also help to protect the soil from erosion.

The roots of the plant grow to a depth of 30 m. The root system also includes sponge and lateral roots.

Note: travellers should not walk to near to the Welwitschia as the lateral roots are shallow and footsteps may damage them.

The female Welwitschia has 60 – 100 cones which produce up to 10,000 seeds. The male plant produces flowers. The male plant produces pollen from six stamens, each consisting of an anther which is the pollen sac, and a pistil which is normally the female reproductive organ of a plant, but in the case of the male Welwitschia, the pistil is sterile.

The male plant fertilises the female plant by wind, and with the assistance of a little insect known as a Probergrothiussexpunctalis.

The Welwitschia is the only member of the cone-bearing group of plants in Namibia. Another interesting fact about the Welwitschia is the fact that although it has characteristics of an angiosperm (flowering plant), it also has characteristics of a gymnosperm (pine-bearing plant).

Once the seeds are fertilised, they form wing-like husks and are blown off by the wind. Most of the seeds have very little chance of germinating and growing.