Country guides
Africa
Things to do in Botswana
Visitors can choose to experience Botswana's incredible wildlife and scenery in many ways, from self-drive four-wheel-drive journeys to chartered five-star safari packages.
Maun is the country's main tourist hub and gateway to the Okavango Delta. A popular way to explore is a guided journey in a mokoro (dugout canoe). Visitors can stay in tented camps in Moremi Game Reserve, enjoying some of the world's densest concentrations of wildlife, or take a four-by-four trip through Chobe National Park, encountering predators at Savuti, and large herds of Elephant at the Linyanti marshes. The delta is also world-renowned for its freshwater fishing safaris, October being the best time to visit. Just south of Moremi and Chobe lies the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, where visitors can overnight at Boteti River before exploring the astonishing scenery of the salt flats.
Botswana's northeast corner houses the border town of Kasane, the meeting point with Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Travellers can head across the border to see Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. A scenic flight over the falls is an unforgettable experience. Northwest is home to the Tsodilo Hills, a spectacular example of ancient rock art and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
For those seeking some peace and quiet, the vast expanse of the Kalahari Desert awaits. The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is one of the largest reserves in Africa, roughly the size of Denmark. Here, visitors can encounter iconic black-maned lions, camp in Deception Valley to see the rare brown hyena, and go for guided walks with the indigenous San hunter-gatherers. Right in the south, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park is home to huge red sand dunes and large migratory herds. Visitors will encounter few other tourists down here in the raw heart of Africa.
Mokolodi Nature Reserve
This 300-hectare reserve is just nine miles (15km) from Gaborone and contains examples of most of the local flora as well as an impressive collection of indigenous animals such as …
Moremi Wildlife Reserve
Moremi, about 37 miles (60km) from Maun, is a 1,160 square mile (3,000 sq km) reserve in the middle of the Okavango Delta, in one of the world's most pristine wilderness areas. Acc…
Chobe National Park
The second largest game park in Botswana, Chobe comprises four regions; the river floodplains and teak forest, the Savute marshes, the Linyanti swamp, and the dry hinterland. Chobe…
Tsodilo Hills
To the west of the Okavango Delta area, about 33 miles (53km) from the town of Shakawe, is a mysterious site shrouded in myth, legend and spiritual significance for the local San p…
Gaborone Game Reserve
Although smaller than most, at just under 600 hectares, the Gaborone Game Reserve is the third busiest game reserve in Botswana, providing a very popular venue for city residents i…
Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
The Makgadikgadi Pans are located in the northeast of the country and are among the largest salt flats on earth, covering 6,200 square miles (16,000km²) of the Kalahari basin. Dur…
Khutse Game Reserve
Established in 1971, the Khutse Game Reserve encompasses 965 square miles (2,500 sq km) of semi-arid Kalahari bush savannah in the Bakwena tribal lands. Boreholes have been sunk in…
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, located in both Botswana and South Africa, extends over 15,000 square miles (38,000 sq km) of the southern Kalahari Desert. About three quarters o…
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
At 20,380 square miles (52,800 sq. km), the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is larger than some European countries, such as Denmark or Switzerland, and is bigger than Lesotho and Esw…
