The incredible and varied landscapes of Botswana’s parks and reserves make this country a fantastic and rewarding safari destination. In the North, there are the sparkling waterways and emerald floodplains of the Okavango Delta. Dominating the heart of the country is the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, a seldom visited but incredible sandy wilderness. Then there’s Chobe National Park — home to tens of thousands of elephants. I first visited Botswana when I was 21. I loved it then and I love it now. As I’ve gotten older, much older, and spent more and more tine there Botswana has never disappointed.

1. Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park is the second largest park in Botswana and covers four diverse ecosystems, from swamps to floodplains and woodlands to savannahs. The park is home to an array of wildlife and birds. But if there’s one thing that really draws the crowds here, it’s the elephants. Chobe boasts around 120,000 elephants, and in my opinion, they are best seen from the water on a sunset cruise. The park takes its name from the Chobe River, a beautiful river that forms the boundary between Botswana and Namibia — with the green wetlands on the Namibian bank contrasting with the dark waters of the river, and the sandbanks of Chobe National Park on the other.

Most people visiting Chobe will do so from Kasane, with its wide range of accommodation options and easy access on the eastern side of the park. Alternatively, Savuti, the very western corner of Chobe, is a year-round destination renowned for large concentrations of game, particularly for big cats (lions, leopards, and cheetahs).

Whilst not technically within Chobe National Park, the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve, located to the west of the park, is a private reserve catering to the slightly more ‘well-heeled’ adventurous traveller. The concession covers some 125,000 hectares, and is fed by the Kwando River, ensuring plenty of wildlife spotting opportunities, especially prides of lions.

The best time to visit Chobe is between May and September, when the weather is drier and cooler. Chobe is accessible by car which makes it a little less expensive than some of Botswana’s other parks. There’s a wide variety of accommodation available to suit all budgets.

2. Okavango Delta
The Okavango River cuts through the centre of the Kalahari Desert, creating a unique inland water system that gives life to a huge variety of birds and animals. The Delta — declared the thousandth UNESCO world heritage site — forms where the Okavango River meets the Great Plains at the end of the Kalahari Desert. The Okavango, an oasis of islands, wildlife, and lush green vegetation in the middle of the unforgiving Kalahari desert, is the world’s largest inland delta. Every year the delta floods, covering over 6,175 square miles, and this huge expanse of water, studded with emerald-green islands and incredible wildlife, is a once-in-a-lifetime safari destination.

One of the most authentic ways to experience the Delta is by mokoro — a traditional canoe carved from a single large tree. Gliding down a river on a mokoro brings a sense of peace and relaxation that not much else can match. Plus, especially during peak flood season — which is ironically during the May-October dry season — wildlife is more concentrated on the islands, and from your mokoro, you have the perfect vantage point. On my first trip to Botswana, I did a three-day mokoro trip into the Okavango Delta, and I loved every minute of it.

3. Moremi Game Reserve
Voted the best game reserve on the African continent in 2008, Moremi has a lot going for itself. The reserve lies in the eastern Okavango Delta and borders Chobe National Park. This is the only officially protected part of the Okavango Delta (the reserve covers one-third of the Okavango Delta). Small but perfectly formed, with a high density and variety of wildlife, Moremi is a haven for birdwatchers — with over 500 species to view. Wild dogs are regularly spotted here, as well as the Big Five, thanks to the re-introduction of both black and white rhinos.

July through October is the best time to visit. There are a number of campsites within the park, particularly sought after by self-drivers, and several lodges and camps can be found just outside the reserve. We did a fantastic, multi-generational family camping trip here with people aged 18–75.

4. Khwai Concession
Khwai is a 202,000 hectare gem on the fringes of the Okavango Delta, sandwiched between Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park. On our last visit there, we found both a hyena den and a wild dog den, both complete with babies — some incredibly special encounters that I will remember forever. Khwai is in fact one of the best places in Botswana to see wild dogs and other predators.

The Khwai Community Concession is owned and run by the local community, with camps and lodges renting the privilege of operating in this amazing place. This means that visitors coming here know that the community directly benefits from their tourist dollars — a concept vital for the survival of any conservation area.

5. Central Kalahari Game Reserve
The CKGR, as it is usually referred to, is a sandy wilderness punctuated by salt pans, fossilized river beds, and semi-arid grasslands, where black-maned lion and cheetahs stalk grazing herds of springbok and oryx. Wild and amazingly vast, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a wilderness of unfathomable open spaces. This is one of the most remote reserves in southern Africa. It is also the second-largest reserve in the world; it’s as big as Belgium! CKGR was established in 1961 with the aim of providing the San people with a place to live and preserve their traditions and culture. A mobile safari is the best way to experience this magical place.

6. The Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
The name may be a mouthful, but the place has a certain beauty that makes it well worth a visit. And the location, in northeastern Botswana, makes it easy to combine with a visit to Chobe and the Okavango Delta. At over 18,000 square miles, the Makgadikgadi Pans are the largest salt pans in the world. The salt-encrusted pans are flat and arid, and the skyline appears to go on forever. The Makgadikgadi Pans are the remains of a huge lake that dried up thousands of years ago. Wildlife is particularly varied in the dry season, when animals come from miles around to the Boteti River — the only source of water for a considerable distance.

7. Nxai Pan National Park
Although technically part of Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Nxai Pan National Park was created to extend the conservation area, and is a national park and wildlife reserve in its own right. Nxai Pan is 40km² of fossil lakebed, with wonderful sand dunes, towering baobab trees, and, of course, the salt pans themselves. During the rainy season from November to April, the lakebed becomes lush and green, playing host to an array of migrating wildlife. If possible, a trip to Nxai Pans should be combined with seeing the longest zebra migration in the world, which spans from Namibia to Nxai Pan, covering over 1,000km. The stylish bush camp Migration Expeditions is an ideal place to experience this.

8. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Kgalagadi — the first Transfrontier Peace Park on the continent — is shared with Botswana and South Africa. Situated on 24,000km² of land, salt pans, sand dunes, and an array of wildlife during the rainy season, this is a wonderful park to visit during the summer months (January–April). Straddling the border between South Africa and Botswana, the park is not easy to get to, especially from the Botswana side. You’ll need a 4×4 and the ability to camp self-sufficiently.

9. Tsodilo Hills
Tsodilo Hills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, appears almost suddenly out of the ground in northwest Kalahari. This is an outdoor art gallery, showcasing more than 4,000 ancient San Bushmen rock paintings, as well as shelters and caves. Over 4,500 cave drawings have been found in over 200 locations, depicting hunting scenes, dancing rituals, and wild animals. Some of the rock art dates back more than 30,000 years and archaeologists believe people have lived in the area for as long as 100,000 years. The San Bushmen believe this sacred area is the site of the creation of man and a resting place for spirits of the dead.

Visitors can hike the three main hills with the assistance of local guides. The best time to visit is in the winter months, as summer can be blisteringly hot.

People travel from around the world to visit Botswana, to see the undeniable beauty of the Okavango Delta, the vast and imposing Kalahari Desert, phenomenal wildlife sightings and knowledgeable guides, the rich history and peacefulness of the country, and of course, for the largest concentration of African elephants in the world. Botswana is a country with so much to offer. This is, without a doubt, a place that will live up to all of your pre-trip expectations.

Sarah Kingdom

Travel writer, mountain guide, yoga teacher, trail runner and mother, Sarah Kingdom was born and brought up in Sydney, Australia. Coming to Africa at 21 she fell in love with the continent and stayed. Sarah guides on Kilimanjaro several times a year, and has lost count of how many times she has stood on the roof of Africa. She has climbed and guided around the world and now spends most of her time visiting remote places in Africa. When she is not traveling she runs a cattle ranch in Zambia with her husband.

Safaris in Botswana

Sarah Kingdom