Top Things To See In Botswana

This post covers the top places to see in Botswana, a paradise for adventurous travelers passionate about African wildlife. With almost 40% of the country covered with national parks, wildlife reserves, and sanctuaries, it’s the perfect destination for experiencing vulnerable and endangered species in their natural habitat.

Not only is Botswana home to the world’s most elephants, at around 130,000, it’s also home to the rest of the Big Five (African lion, Cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, and rhinoceros) and much more.

In addition, Botswana is committed to high quality, low impact tourism to protect this wildlife, so you can feel good about taking safaris here.

Top Things To See and Do In Botswana

The three most popular places to see in Botswana are:

• Okavango Delta
• Moremi Game Reserve
• Chobe National Park

The Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta is one of the most popular destinations in Botswana, and if you can only see one, this is definitely the best place to visit. This amazing wonderland, awarded Unesco World Heritage status due to its natural beauty, biodiversity, AND evolutionary processes, is also one of the 7 Wonders of Africa.

About 40,000 years ago shifts in tectonic plates here created a trough, resulting in the Okavango River merging into a swamp in the Kalahari desert.

Today it’s the world’s largest inland delta with over 150,000 islands. A maze of lagoons, swamps, meandering channels, and flooded grassy plains, it’s home to a wide diversity of exceptional wildlife.

Plus, riding through the Delta in a mokoro is an amazing way to take a safari!

The Living Delta

The ebb and flow of the Delta is as fascinating as the area and its wildlife. Rain water from the highlands of Angola flow here along a path that takes months, arriving in June or July, which paradoxically, is the dry season.

This influx of water nourishes the ecosystem, creating an oasis in the desert and attracting animals from miles around, resulting in one of Africa’s largest concentrations of wildlife.

At its peak, the Delta can grow to almost 3 times its normal size, from 2,000-6,000 miles² (5,000-15,000 km²).

The water starts to recede again in October, mostly being absorbed by the plant life, but also by seeping into the desert sands, and through evaporation.

This cycle occurs annually, making the Delta almost like a living breathing organism itself.

Delta Wildlife

The Delta is an amazing array of life, home to over 150 species of mammals, 500 species of birds, and 15,000 species of plants.

You can see the Big Five in the Okavango Delta, although rhino are rare. You can also see hippos, zebra, giraffe, wildebeast, a variety of antelope, African wild dog, and much more. Cheetah, although rare, are also here.

Making this area even more unique, all the plants and animals here have adapted to this wetland, many synchronizing their biological systems to its cycles.

Best Time To Visit The Okavango Delta

Although it’s a year round destination, the best time for viewing wildlife is July through September, when the Delta is at its peak.

As the dry season progresses, so do temperatures. In September and October, they are are at their hottest.

The rainy season, November to April, is best for birdwatching.

Getting Around The Okavango Delta

If arriving to Botswana via air, you can arrange chartered flights to the Delta, where you can further transfer by road or water if necessary. Alternatively, you can self drive via 4 x 4.

I spent 5 days in Botswana with Intrepid as part of a 49 day camping trip, visiting 7 countries from Cape Town to Nairobi, Kenya. Although I’m not a tour kind of person, this was an amazing way to see this area. It was convenient, inexpensive (breaking it down to a per day basis), and I loved every minute.

Our group crossed into Botswana from Namibia near the panhandle. Eventually taking a ferry over to the east side of the Okavango River where we found our safari guides, waiting for us with mokoros

Mokoros are a traditional boat in Botswana, generally carved from wood. Modern mokoros, however, are often made of fiberglass to preserve trees.

Mokoro Water Safari

We slipped the mokoros into the Delta and our ‘polers’ glided us through the reeds to our destination to Camp Umvuvu on Gau Island.

At first it was a little scary, for fear of tipping into the Delta full of hippo and crocodile. However, once you get used to it, you realize it’s really an amazing way to experience the Delta.

Sliding between the reeds and lily pads, we saw elephants in the distance on several occasions.

We also saw water buffalo and a variety of bird life.

Even more magical was a mokoro ride during one of Botswana’s spectacular red sunsets. Certainly an experienced I will never forget.

After our safaris, we were given a chance to test our own skills at poling.

Although I did fall, luckily it was only to the bottom of the mokoro and not into the Delta, which is full of hippo and crocodile!

It’s motivation to learn quickly…lol.

Island Camping In The Delta

We wild camped at the Umvuvu Rest Camp on Gau island (which unfortunately is closed now), setting up set our tents up in the grasses. After dinner we sat around the fire, listening to stories from our polers, and learning traditional African dance.

As there are wild animals on Gau Island, they warned us to scan the area with a flashlight before leaving our tent after dark. Telling us that if there were eyes that reflected back at us, to retreat slowly back into our tent. I don’t think many people chose to leave their tent at dark. I know I didn’t!

Walking Safaris can also be organized. We saw several elephant, as well the tracks of leopard and zebra near our camp.

We also spent a night on Xau Island, southeast of Seronga, also near the panhandle. This area is known to be a playground for hippos and we were not disappointed. There were 15-20 bubbling up and down near the riverbank very close to our camp.

They woke us early the next morning when they noisily waddled back into the Delta, where they stay to protect their skin from the sun.

There are many places to stay along the Delta, from inexpensive camping, like we did, to standard and luxury camps. Although this is not a complete list, you can find other options in the Delta at expertafrica.com.

Moremi Game Reserve

The Moremi Game Reserve, which takes up about 30% of the eastern part of the Okavango Delta, is another of the top places to see in Botswana.

Named after Chief Moremi III, this area was the traditional land and hunting grounds of the people of Botswana. It was turned into a reserve, rather than a National Park to allow the Bushmen to continue living here.

Moremi Wildlife

Similar to wildlife in the Delta, you can see the Big Five in Moremi, although rhino are rare. You can also see hippo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, Nile crocodile, a variety of antelope, and wild African dog. Cheetah are also rare here.

Best Time To Visit Moremi

Although it’s a year round destination, the best time for viewing wildlife is July through September.

The rainiest months are January, February, and March. The rain often limits road access.

Visiting Moremi

As part of ecotourism here, there are few lodges, and tourists are limited to protect the area. Because they are limited, you need to book in advance. Some lodges are only accessible via chartered plane, which means that lodging can be quite expensive.

Moremi can be accessed by 4 x 4 from the city of Maun and Chobe, or by air.

Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park covers over 4,200 miles² (10,000 km²) in northern eastern Botswana. It not only has the the world’s largest concentration of Afrcian elephants, it has the largest concentration of elephants and one the largest concentrations of game in Africa, making it another of the top places to see in Botswana.

Chobe Wildlife

You can see the Big Five here, except the rhino is very rare to see. You can also see hippos, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, cheetah, and species of antelope and much more. Wild African dog is also here, but also rare.

Best Time To Visit Chobe National Park

A river cruise is best done in the dry season, May through September.

Getting To Chobe National Park

You can arrange a chartered flight here or self drive via 4 x 4. You can drive from Moremi or Victoria Falls (either Zimbabwe or Zambia).

The easiest to access and most popular area in Chobe is the riverfront, near Kasane. Chobe gate is 3 miles (6 km) west of Kasane.

Chobe River Cruises

A river cruise along the Chobe River is the best way to see game in Chobe National Park. Not only because the boats can get close to the river banks, and thus closer to the animals, but also because the animals are more active and animated around the water, making them fascinating to watch.

I loved watching the elephants swim and play in the river. This photo really doesn’t do it justice, but they were swimming right in front of us. Not something you get to see every day!

Chobe Game Drives

You can also do game drives in the park. We saw a lot of game here as well, including lion, giraffe, elephant, antelope, and more, but I found the river cruise extra special.

Other Things To See in Botswana

Tsodilo Hills

Tsodilo Hills was home to people here for over 100,000 years. It contains over 4,500 rock art paintings from the Stone Age to the 19th century.

This site is about 24 miles (40 km) from Shakawe. We did not visit here, but I have read that the roads can be difficult.

The Greater Makgadikgadi

The greater Makgadikgadi contains two parks, Makgadikgadi Pans National Park & Nxai National Park. Remnants of a ‘super-lake’, they cover about 5,500 miles² (14,000 km²) and have some of the largest pans in the world.

This salty desert comes alive in the rainy season, December to May, attracting migrating wildlife like large herds of zebra, wildebeest, and the animals that prey on them. Flocks of flamingo have also been known to arrive here.

You can also find clusters of baobab trees here, which are famous for their unusual trunks.

The Boteti River, where most of the lodges are, is best visited in the dry season, June to December.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve, in central Botswana, is Botswana’s biggest game reserve and the second largest in the world.

The San Bushmen lived here for thousands of years until bans on hunting stopped their nomadic lifestyle. Some San still live on the reserve, but many have been relocated.

This reserve is home to a variety of wildlife, including the Big Five. They also have a black maned lion, as well as other animals adapted to the desert.

It can be challenging to find game in the large park, but congregations can be found in the northern area around Deception Valley.

As opposed to the locations above, the rainy season is best to visit the Kalahari Game Reserve, January to April.

Summary

Even if you select only two of the top three things to see noted above, your visit to Botswana will be spectacular. My recommendation is the Okavango Delta, as it’s unique and quite amazing, and Chobe National Park, to see the elephants, and other animals, play in the river.

If traveling throughout southern Africa, a great itinerary is to combine Namibia, Botswana, and Victoria Falls. Chobe is only 49 miles (80 km) west of Victoria Falls, taking around 1.5-2 hours, depending on if visiting the Falls in Zimbabwe or Zambia.

For more reading on Botswana, see my post Village Visit In Botswana to learn about the trip we made to the village of one of our mokoro polers.

To help plan your trip to Botswana, see my Botswana Travel Guide, which covers the top highlights, how to get around, safety, logistics, and more.

Sage Travels!

Julie