The Best Botswana Destinations in Africa’s Great Outdoors
What other country is as diverse as Botswana? Botswana is a country of vast deserts and wetlands, open grasslands and highlands. The Kalahari Desert in the southwest of the country and the Okavango Delta in the north draw visitors from all over the world. With the longest stretch of sand in the world, the Kalahari Desert, and the largest inland delta in the world, the Okavango Delta, the country is truly a land of deserts and grasslands.
Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park Full Day Safari (Botswana)
Located in the northwest of Botswana, Chobe National Park was declared a national park in 1967, the first of three national parks in Botswana (Chobe, Makgadikgadi Pans, and Nxai Pan), making it a historic and well-maintained national park.
A wildlife paradise, Chobe National Park is home to the largest concentration of animals on the African continent, including elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, and leopard, commonly referred to as the “Big 5,” as well as hippo, crocodile, zebra, giraffe, and impala. Elephants, however, are the park’s most iconic animal, with more than 130,000 elephants in the park, about one-third of the total elephants on the entire African continent. Chobe’s elephants spend the dry season near the Linianti and Chobe Rivers, then migrate in herds 200 kilometers to the southeastern part of the park during the rainy season, a spectacular sight to behold. Travelers short on time should consider taking a safari tour that drives or boats along the rivers where most of the animals congregate.
Botswana’s second-largest national park and home to the largest concentration of animals on the African continent, safari tours are popular. One of the park’s most spectacular sights is its elephant herds, which form one of the largest groups in the world, with around 120,000 animals living together. Safaris are available by boat and game drives on land.
Kalahari Desert
3 Day Desert Trail: Central Kalahari Game Reserve – WildCamping Safari
The Kalahari Desert is famous for being the longest stretch of sand in the world. It’s a huge, dry desert that spans Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia. The lack of water makes it a desert, but the salt layer beneath the desert provides nutrients, and during the rainy season, it grows quite lush forests, hence the odd term “semi-desert”. And because of this, you’ll find a wide variety of animals here, from herbivores to carnivores.
The Kalihari Desert is also home to some of the most unique activities. You can take part in glamping/camping and stargazing tours in the desert with minimal equipment. The meerkats you meet on these tours have been tamed by humans, so when you lie down in the desert in the morning, they will come and play with you! This is where the idea of enjoying the company of animals in nature becomes a reality.
Botswana’s zebras show massive migration activity all the way to the Kalahari. During the rainy season in most of Africa, from January to April, the Kalahari Desert is home to the largest zebra migration in the world. Tours are available to follow the migration on horseback.
Botswana’s national specialty, the Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum Procumbens), is also native to the Kalahari Desert. Named for its bizarre claw-like shape, Devil’s Claw has long been used as a herbal medicine by the locals, and has since been developed in Germany, England, and elsewhere as a treatment for rheumatism, arthritis, and neuralgia. The herb is a protected plant and is strictly controlled by the government and only allowed to be harvested for subsistence by the Basarwa people for two months of the year, and in extremely limited quantities. The devil’s claw is such an iconic Botswana souvenir that you’re bound to find it in the hands of anyone who visits the country.
A journey back to primitive times :
Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta Mokoro Excursion Adventure
The Okavango Delta is a massive delta formed when the waters of the upper Okavango River overflow into the Kalahari Desert during the rainy season. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary swamp, but the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Africa, is a miracle of nature. Unlike most delta rivers, the Okavango does not flow into the sea or ocean, but into the open savannah. This natural condition creates a vast oasis in the arid Kalahari Desert and serves as the heart of Botswana, supplying water to the rest of the country.
When rain falls in the headwaters of the Okavango River in January during the rainy season, the water flows for months, reaching the delta in June and July, the driest months, and slowly spreading across the country. From March to June each year, hundreds of thousands of animals from across Africa migrate to the Okavango Delta, creating a spectacular display that can be seen nowhere else on Earth. The Okavanga Delta was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Watching elephant families frolicking in the water and wild dogs hunting is especially moving.
Located in the Ngamiland District, the Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta in the world and is considered an ecological treasure trove because it never dries up even during the dry season. It was recognized as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2014 for its biological value due to its rare natural environment and vast diversity of plant and animal species. The Moremi Wildlife Reserve 30 is also located on the eastern side of the delta, covering about 3,000 square kilometers, and is home to more than 500 species of birds and wildlife.
Mokoro Boat Tour
The Okavango Delta is also known for its secrets. There are traditional log boats called mokoro that can only be ridden in the Okavango Delta. It’s the best way to explore the delta, with an experienced guide paddling a pole along the waterways. Sunset on a mokoro is an art form. Just in time for the sun to set, the natives put travelers on the mokoro and push the pole as hard as they can. In the rainy season, the clouds that fill the sky play freely with the light, giving you a true sense of the Okavango.
Motorboats are not allowed here due to the low water depth. So you have to take a Mokoro. The boatman steers the boat with a long wooden pole, which is cut from a log. As you pass through the jungle, you’ll see people working on the Moroccans. It takes about two hours to reach the base camp, with lotus flowers on the water and clear skies. These two hours can be a bit tedious, but it’s also the most serene part of your trip to Africa. Listening to the sound of the grass, the boatman singing, and the water rushing by on the boat is one of the most peaceful places on earth, and as I mentioned earlier, you might see an elephant in the distance or a hippopotamus on the water. The two-hour mokoro ride will give you the gift of time.
The best time to travel is from July to September, when the water levels are high and the weather is dry, so keep that in mind if you’re thinking of visiting.
Walking Safari in the Okavango Delta region
A king safari is one of the options with Morocco, and it’s the only walking safari in Africa that involves walking with a guide in search of wildlife in the wetlands. Depending on your luck, you’re likely to see elephants, zebra and wildebeest.
If you’re lucky, you might even see a lion, so it’s the closest you’ll get to animals, but also the most dangerous. There are many things to watch out for on a walking safari that make it the most dangerous safari. You shouldn’t wear red, blue, yellow, or other brightly colored clothes, as they can attract the attention of the animals and cause accidents. You should also always listen carefully to your guide and avoid making loud noises. Usually, when you arrive in Morocco, you will pitch your tent, have lunch and rest, and then go on a two-hour walking safari.
Tsodilo
UNESCO Heritage site Cultural Multi-Day tour from Maun, Botswana
The Tsodilo Dunes have been called the “Louvre of the Desert” and are home to one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs in the world. There are more than 4,500 petroglyphs, most of which are painted in red ochre from hematite. They date from the Stone Age to the 19th century and are believed to have been carved by the San and Bantu peoples. The subject matter of the petroglyphs is largely naturalistic, with most murals displaying a variety of geometric symbols, characterized by a distinctive treatment of human figures and exaggerated proportions of many animal bodies.
There are no nearby shops or services, but travelers can camp around the base of the hill and fetch water from a well. A tourist center and campground are being built for the convenience of visitors.
