Botswana, one of the most well-known safari destinations in Africa, is a huge, sparsely inhabited nation with sizable protected wilderness areas, an abundance of animals, and a long history and culture. We’ve included some of the best places to go and things to do in Botswana to give you a head start on your trip there.
1. Discover true solitude in the expansive Makgadikgadi Pans.
A lake the size of Switzerland once covered the vast salt flats of Botswana. Today, a few isolated sites may be found in the Makgadikgadi, offering a frequently required break from modern life, a feeling of seclusion, and the opportunity to experience a true wilderness. It’s one of the rare locations where you can actually feel cut off from the outside world and hear nothing but silence.
One of the most incredible things to do in Botswana is to pay a visit here, albeit it’s not usually people’s first choice. Go for a walk with the San Bushmen or ride a quad bike over the pans. There is also a plentiful supply of wildlife, including elephants, lions, herds of wildebeest and zebra, brown hyenas, meerkats, and even cheetahs and leopards.
2. Through the Okavango Delta by Mokoro
A mokoro, or traditional dug-out canoe, is a common way to explore the Okavango Delta, one of Botswana’s most well-known tourist destinations and a Unesco World Heritage Site. You can observe the smaller creatures that you’d miss on a game drive, like tiny reed frogs, fluttering butterflies, tiny, brightly colored birds, and lovely water lilies, by taking a leisurely mokoro ride in the Delta’s rivers.
The canoe’s engine is the sole sound, and since there is no other noise, it is much simpler to identify birds that would be scared by a safari vehicle’s loud engine. You might see hippos relaxing in the shallow water or elephants splashing from a safe distance.
3. Meet the Chobe elephants.
Over 120,000 elephants live in Chobe National Park, making it one of the best sites on earth to witness these enormous beasts in their native habitat. At the end of the Dry season, between August and October, enormous herds congregate on the riverfront.
Chobe is an excellent park to visit for anyone on a road trip or on a budget because it is accessible by self-drive. You can also visit Chobe as a day excursion from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe or Zambia. For the best photographs of elephants against the stunning African sunset, take a sundowner river boat.
4. Walk alongside the Bushmen
The San Bushmen have been residing in southern Africa for at least 20,000 years, making them the region’s oldest inhabitants. As a result, they have amassed a vast amount of information about this region, which is passed down to each succeeding generation. Even if their way of life is changing, they continue to practice their ancient traditions and knowledge.
You can stroll with the Bushmen in the early morning hours in a number of locations throughout the Kalahari. Some of the secrets of their land, such which plants’ roots can act as water sources, which branches create the greatest arrows, and how to locate animals, will be revealed to you.
5. Find prehistoric rock art
All over the African continent, there are instances of rock art that serve as relics of ancient cultures and populations. But one of the world’s biggest concentrations of rock art is found in Botswana. In roughly a 10km2/4mi2 region, the Tsodilo Hills in the country’s far northwest are home to more than 4,500 works of art, according to Unesco.
The rock art, which shows ritual dances, hunting, and wildlife, is thought to have been created between the Stone Age (which started around 3.4 million years ago) and the 19th century. This holy site is a must-see tourism destination in Botswana for history aficionados.
6. Dozing off under the stars
One of the nicest sights in Botswana, a nation the size of France with only two million people, is the clear night sky, which is undisturbed by light pollution. Numerous camps provide platform sleepouts with a guide nearby for security.
A wonderfully romantic addition to a honeymoon or vacation with your lover is sleeping under the stars. Ask your guide to take you away from the lights of your lodge so you may spend some time taking in the stars in all their splendor if you don’t feel like spending the night outside.
7. Observe birds in Lake Ngami
A wide variety of species, some common and others endangered can be found around this lake, including greater and lesser flamingos, lesser kestrels, Hartlaub’s babblers, and Kalahari robins. The lake is among the most fascinating sights to view in Botswana, aside from the prospects for birds due to its frequent disappearance.
Soon after David Livingstone visited it in 1849, it disappeared, then filled up again at the end of the 19th century. There are many birds present even when it’s dry, but when it’s full, it’s a birder’s paradise.
8. Discover The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’s universe.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, a popular series by author Alexander McCall Smith set in the nation’s capital Gaborone, helped Botswana gain more recognition abroad. Fans of the books and television series can travel about the city, stop by Precious Ramotswe’s actual residence on Zebra Drive, her workplace next to Speedy Motors, and even travel outside of the city to her family’s house in Machudi.
9. Safari in Hot Air Over the Delta
The Okavango is so vast that you can truly appreciate it when you go ballooning. Flying low over it in a light plane is one thing; floating serenely above its oxbow lakes while counting the hippos, elephants, and buffalo below is quite another. One of the top things to do in Botswana while on your honeymoon, it’s a beautiful experience.
10. Horseback riding safaris
The most exclusive activities in Botswana are horseback riding safaris, which are only advised for experienced riders. As soon as your horse becomes accustomed to the presence of game, you may enjoy cantering across pristine floodplains in pursuit of sitatunga, lechwe, and the horse’s distant relative, the zebra. Don’t despair, less experienced riders—many resorts provide easy outrides for newbies.
