Places to visit in Botswana

Moremi Game Reserve  

Located in Botswana’s north-eastern corner, covering one-fifth of the vast Okavango Delta, Moremi is one of Africa’s most beautiful game reserves. The region boasts a diverse range of ecosystems, including floodplains, lagoons, forests and open grasslands.

This variety of landscapes offers visitors a choice of safari experiences – take your pick from guided bush walks, 4x4 game drives or paddling safaris in a dugout canoe.

Best time to visit: August to November
Go there for: Sensational landscapes and fewer visitors than other reserves
Don’t miss: The wet season when the mammal numbers in the park swell

MOREMI GAME RESERVE

Selinda Reserve  

The famous Selinda Spillway links the Okavango Delta with the Linyanti swamps in Botswana’s north. The surrounding floodplains attract vast herds of antelope, zebra and elephant during the dry season, when wildlife gathers around the permanent water springs. Following closely behind these herds, opportunistic predators such as lion, cheetah and wild dog will be on the hunt, so keep your camera at the ready for action shots.

When the water levels are right, a canoe safari offers a different perspective of the Selinda Reserve.

Best time to visit: March to October
Go there for: The incredible conservation efforts in operation
Don’t miss: Some of the largest elephant herds in Southern Africa

SELINDA RESERVE

Linyanti Concession  

The Linyanti Concession sits in the Kalahari’s north, in a landscape dominated by mopane woodlands and vast floodplains. Here, where wetland meets desert, the sheer variety of wildlife is staggering. A guided safari will bring you alongside species such as zebra, elephant, giraffe, lion, impala, leopard and spotted hyena. In the dry season, rarer species such as roan antelope and sable can be spotted too.

The Linyanti Reserve is an ideal extension to a safari in Moremi or the Okavango Delta, providing access to one of Botswana’s most remote but rewarding destinations.

Best time to visit: March to November
Go there for: The sumptuous camps in the region
Don’t miss: Unparalleled bird-watching and a huge range of big mammals

LINYANTI CONCESSION

Makgadikgadi Pans National Park  

The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans were formed when an ancient lake larger than Switzerland dried up. The resulting salt flats provide beautiful, uncanny landscapes which host a surprising variety of animals. In the torrid dry season, only tenacious species like meerkat, brown hyena and springbok thrive in the harsh conditions. But with the arrival of rain, you’ll find yourself in a front row seat for southern Africa’s last-surviving great migration.

As the pans begin to fill with water and the landscape grows green, hungry herds of wildebeest, zebra and antelope arrive by the thousands. Following closely in their wake will be equally hungry predators.

Best time to visit: July to February
Go there for: Otherworldly landscapes and rare desert creatures
Don’t miss: Magnificent animal migrations

MAKGADIKGADI PANS

Nxai Pan National Park 

Nxai Pan is a more luscious part of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, where you can lose yourself in thick vegetation or stroll through the shade of the baobab trees made famous by Thomas Bains. This is also the place to trace the footsteps of legendary explorer, Livingstone.

As well as the Big Five and other game which can be seen throughout Africa, Nxai Pan will allow you to glimpse the more unusual kudu, impala, ostrich, Cape wild dog, bat-eared fox, aardwolf and honey badger.

Best time to visit: December to April
Go there for: The legacies of famous European explorers
Don’t miss: A guided walk with a nomadic San tribesman