The highlights of Botswana

Botswana offers an incredible variety of fascinating nature reserves. Here you will find an overview of the country's most important destinations. We will be happy to help you with the detailed planning of your tour.

Chobe National Park "
Okavango Delta "
Moremi Game Reserve "
Central Kalahari "
Makgadikgadi Pans "
Victoria Falls "

Chobe National Park

The Chobe River and the famous Chobe National Park are located in the far north-east of Botswana. This approximately 11,000 square kilometer park is considered one of the most species-rich and scenically attractive protected areas on the southern African subcontinent. It is home to the largest contiguous elephant population in the world, with more than 60,000 pachyderms residing here. Not only elephants have found their home in Chobe National Park, buffalo, hippos and antelopes also live here. With more than 440 different bird species, the park is also a highlight for any bird lover.

The good tourist infrastructure as well as beautiful lodges and bush camps in Kasane and throughout the Chobe Game Reserve offer an unforgettable vacation. In addition to game drives, you can experience incomparable sunset cruises on the Chobe River. The Victoria Falls, only 70 km away, can be explored on a day trip.

Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta has an area larger than Schleswig Holstein. It is therefore the largest inland delta in the world. The 1430-kilometer-long Okavango River rises in the highlands of Angola and then meets the sand savannah of the Kalahari in Botswana, forming a one-mile connection: desert and delta.

The traditional way to travel here is in a mokoro, a wooden dugout canoe. In this you glide almost silently through the marshland. A poler steers the guests safely through the delta. You also have the option of disembarking on the islands of the delta to go on a bush walk.

A flight over the delta is certainly one of the most spectacular Okavango experiences. numerous flights are offered from Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. from above you have the opportunity to see the river courses, waterways, lakes, islands and forest areas as well as herds of elephant or buffalo.

Moremi Game Reserve

The Moremi Wildlife Reserve, which covers around 5000 square kilometers, is the oldest nature reserve in Botswana. It is considered one of the most beautiful and scenically diverse in Africa. This reserve protects about a third of the Okavango Delta and forms the heart of the delta.

Nowhere is the density of game higher than in this reserve. You have the opportunity to observe many different species of large animals here. Whether on mokoro tours, bush walks or classic jeep safaris: here you have the opportunity to collect incredible safari experiences.

Central Kalahari

The reserve has only been open to individual tourism since 1998. At 52,800 square kilometers, it is one of the five largest nature reserves in the world. A stay in this region is like diving into another world. The Trekenasanne exerts a special fascination due to its cloud moods and the unique sunrises and sunsets.

This endless expanse, in which the horizon seems to disappear, is virtually the heart of the sand-filled Kalahari Basin. The adventurous feeling of solitude and the roar of the Kalahari lion, which can still be heard 8 km away, create a unique atmosphere.

The Cantral Kalahari Game Reserve is not only the home of the black-maned lion, but also the land of origin of the indigenous people of southern Africa, the San (Bushmen). They have lived here for 25,000 years. Nature walks here give you an insight into their unique culture. Game drives give you the opportunity to get to know the wilderness of the mysterious "Thirstland".

Makgadikgadi Pans

The Makgadikgadi salt pans consist of a large number of large and small salt pans. With an area of 12,000 square kilometers, they are the largest salt pans in the world. Around 200,000 years ago, one of the largest inland lakes in Africa was still located here. Since then, it has dried up more and more, leaving a salt crust up to 5 meters thick in its deepest parts.

The salt pans themselves are a salt desert surrounded by grass savannahs. This vegetation-poor area radiates a peculiar, forbidding hostility to life, but is nevertheless home to incredible wildlife. The pans are home to lions, leopards, cheetahs, springboks, impalas and plains zebras, among others, as well as a multitude of water birds that flock to the huge lakes in wet years. Thousands of flamingos have also found their home and breeding grounds here.

A visit to the Makgadikgadi Pans is definitely one of the country's highlights if you like bold, unusual landscapes. The bizarre mood and light conditions in surreal, fantastic landscapes make the pans a spectacular travel destination. In the few lodges you have the opportunity to take part in excursions in the surrounding region. A real highlight is a sundowner around the campfire in the middle of the salt pans.

Victoria Falls

Although the Victoria Falls are located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, they are easily accessible on a day trip from Kasane. You should not miss out on this absolute highlight of the region if you are already in the area.

Here, the mighty Zambezi River drops abruptly over 100 meters across a width of more than 1500 meters, creating one of the greatest highlights of the entire African continent, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

During the rainy season in the South African summer, over 10 million liters of water per second flow over the edge of the cliff. The rising spray, called "Mosi-oa-Tunya - thundering smoke" by the locals, has created a small rainforest around the falls. The water level of the Victoria Falls peaks around April.

During the dry season in the South African winter, the water levels drop significantly and the lack of spray provides a view of the entire falls. The lowest water level occurs towards the end of November, when parts of the falls can fall completely dry.