The Okavango Delta is Botswana’s jewel—a 16,000km² maze of reed-lined channels, floodplains and islands that quenches the Kalahari’s thirsty earth as it flows inland [citation:8]. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is Africa’s biggest inland oasis, at its most expansive during the annual flood period from April to August when waters from Angola’s highlands arrive, transforming the landscape into a shimmering water wonderland [citation:1][citation:8].

Across the delta, a host of areas beckon exploration—Xugana, Khwai, and Moremi Game Reserve, where safaris span everything from guided paddles in mokoros (traditional dugout canoes) to solar-powered boat cruises, walking safaris and 4WD excursions [citation:8]. Yet the wildlife sightings are on tap no matter how you get around, with the delta home to everything from elephants, hippos, lions, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs, to over 450 species of birds [citation:8].

With more than 50 lodges and camps scattered throughout the wilderness, you can take your pick of exclusive glampsites, luxury lodges and cosy chalets in the thick of the action. Many offer mokoro trips through the shallower parts of the delta—an excellent way to explore thanks to their shallow draft and lack of a noisy motor [citation:1].

Encompassing some 11,700km², northern Botswana’s Chobe National Park is home to Africa’s largest concentration of elephants—at least 50,000 of them congregate here during the dry season from May to September [citation:8]. The sight of hundreds of elephants gathering along the Chobe Riverfront is one of Africa’s most unforgettable wildlife spectacles.

Along with huge herds of peaceful pachyderms, the park also supports big numbers of Cape buffalo, hippos, crocodiles, and large land-based predators like lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and wild dogs [citation:8]. A safari by boat is a great way to see the elephant herds—gliding silently along the river as they come to drink and bathe [citation:1].

Chobe is divided into four distinct regions: the lush Riverfront, the seasonal Savuti Marsh, the papyrus-flanked Linyanti, and the arid Nogatsaa Plains, with the Chobe River being the main artery for wildlife adventures and boat safaris [citation:8]. The Savuti region is particularly renowned for its predator activity, where lions sometimes tackle elephants during especially dry spells, and spotted hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, jackals, and bat-eared foxes also abound [citation:8].

Perched on the eastern edge of the Okavango Delta, the Moremi Game Reserve covers roughly 4,900km² of rugged savannah, papyrus-fringed channels, mopane woodlands, floodplains and forested islands [citation:8]. It’s celebrated as one of Africa’s richest ecosystems and is the delta’s only officially protected area, making it a vital conservation stronghold [citation:8].

Its sheer abundance of wildlife makes it unmissable: buffalo, elephant, hippo, lion, leopard, cheetah and endangered wild dogs are all regularly seen, and its birdlife is equally prolific, with fish eagles, kori bustards, wattled cranes, southern carmine bee-eaters, bateleurs and Pel’s fishing owls topping the twitcher’s hitlist [citation:8].

Key safari sectors include Chief’s Island, Moremi Tongue, Xakanaxa, Third Bridge, and Mombo—each prized for their high densities of game and excellent predator sightings, particularly lion and leopard around Mombo and the western channels [citation:8].

The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans are the remains of one of the world’s largest super lakes, now transformed into a starkly beautiful landscape of endless white salt flats [citation:1]. When the rains arrive, this desert bursts into life, attracting the second-largest zebra and wildebeest migration in Africa—a spectacle that rivals the more famous Serengeti migration [citation:1].

Beyond the wildlife, the pans offer unique experiences: quad biking across the flat empty expanse, camping out under the stars—a very different type of safari holiday—and spending time watching the antics of habituated meerkats at Jack’s Camp [citation:1]. The area is also home to the San Bushmen, and you can walk with them and learn how they have adapted to life in this harsh desert environment [citation:1].

Wedged between the Okavango Delta and the northern edge of Chobe National Park, the Linyanti, Selinda and Kwando private conservation areas form an unfenced, interconnected wetland corridor fed by the Kwando-Linyanti river system, offering only restricted access to a small handful of high-end lodges for exclusive safaris [citation:8].

Thanks to its combination of year-round water and varied habitats—permanent rivers, floodplains, lagoons, papyrus stands and riverine forests—an ark’s worth of animals thrive here, including not only big cats, elephants and rare antelopes like sable, roan and lechwe, but also an abundance of fish (around 80 recorded species) and more than 400 types of birds [citation:8].

This is wild dog territory, and sightings of these endangered predators are among the most reliable in Africa. The private concessions offer a level of exclusivity and intimacy impossible in national parks—off-road driving, night drives, and walking safaris.

One of Botswana’s two UNESCO World Heritage sites (along with the Okavango Delta), the so-called ‘Louvre of the Desert’ is one of Africa’s most significant rock-art sites [citation:8]. Set in the remote northwest of the country near the Namibian border, more than 4,000 ancient artworks adorn four dramatic quartzite hills rising from the Kalahari sands [citation:8].

The Tsodilo Hills paintings were made by the San Bushmen and Bantu peoples, primarily using red and white pigment, and they depict animals, humans, ritual scenes and abstract symbols [citation:8]. Some date back to around 2,000 years ago, while others were etched as recently as the 19th century—offering insight into the region’s evolving beliefs and traditions [citation:8].

To explore the hills, you must be accompanied by a local guide, which you can arrange at the small museum and office at the base of the hills [citation:8].