Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Delta, Pan and Desert
Water in the north, salt pans in the middle, and Kalahari sand for the rest of it.
Southern Africa · Afrinkong
Botswana
A delta that never reaches the sea.
The Okavango empties into the Kalahari and evaporates, and the whole country is organised around that fact — low-volume, high-value safari, mokoro channels, and the salt pans of Makgadikgadi.
Where it is
Africa · Southern Africa · Botswana
The land in brief
- Spans
- 910 km E–W, 980 km N–S
- Latitude
- 18°S to 27°S
- Borders
- 4 countries
- Sea
- Landlocked
- Best time
- The Okavango flood peaks between June and August, months after the rain that made it.
Also in Southern Africa
AngolaThe Kalandula falls, and a coast nobody has seenEswatiniSmall, and full of everythingLesothoThe kingdom in the skyMalawiA lake with more fish species than any otherMozambiqueTwo thousand kilometres of coast
Compare Botswana with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
The Okavango flood peaks between June and August, months after the rain that made it.
01Highlights
What Botswana is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
The Largest Elephant Population
Chobe holds more elephant than anywhere on earth, and they come to the river at four.
Mountains
Tsodilo
No real mountains — Tsodilo's four hills hold four thousand rock paintings instead.
Beaches & Coast
Landlocked
The nearest sea is a thousand kilometres away, and nobody here seems to mind.
Forests & Rainforest
Riverine and Mopane
Riverine forest along the Chobe, and mopane woodland across the north.
Culture
Batswana and San
Setswana across the country, and San communities in the Kalahari with the oldest culture on earth.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Botswana with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Delta, Pan and DesertWater in the north, salt pans in the middle, and Kalahari sand for the rest of it.
- TsodiloNo real mountains — Tsodilo's four hills hold four thousand rock paintings instead.
- No Falls, and the Zambezi Next DoorThe water here spreads rather than drops; Victoria Falls is ninety minutes from Kasane.
- The Okavango and the ChobeA mokoro poled through papyrus channels is the correct speed for this country.
- LandlockedThe nearest sea is a thousand kilometres away, and nobody here seems to mind.
- Riverine and MopaneRiverine forest along the Chobe, and mopane woodland across the north.
Wildlife
- The Largest Elephant PopulationChobe holds more elephant than anywhere on earth, and they come to the river at four.
- Low Volume, High ValueFewer beds, larger concessions, and game drives that do not meet another vehicle.
- Community TrustsConcessions leased through community trusts, so the villages hold the lease and the income.
- Mokoro and WalkingPoling, walking and riding — this is the country where you get out of the vehicle.
People and culture
- Batswana and SanSetswana across the country, and San communities in the Kalahari with the oldest culture on earth.
- The Kalahari SanTracking with San guides, who will find in an hour what nobody else sees at all.
- Maitisong and DithubarubaThe Maitisong festival in Gaborone, and the Kweneng cultural festival at Dithubaruba.
- BasketryPalm baskets woven in the delta panhandle, dyed with bark, and collected worldwide.
- Seswaa and BogobeSlow-pounded beef and sorghum porridge, and braai wherever there is a fire.
- Not the Cheapest, but QuietNot a budget destination — but the children will not be sharing a sighting with ten vehicles.
- Cattle PostsAway from the parks the country is cattle, and the cattle post is the centre of it.
Places
- Maun and KasaneNot really cities — two safari towns with airstrips, which is what the country needs.
- Tent, Deck and SandCamps built on decks above the flood, taken down when the concession lease ends.
- Tsodilo HillsFour thousand paintings on four hills the San call the resting place of the gods.
- Diamonds and DemocracyIndependent since 1966, and the one African country that used its diamonds well.
Ways to travel
- Mokoro, Walking, HorsebackPoled canoes, walking safaris on the islands, and some of the best riding safaris anywhere.
- The Concession CampsPrivate concessions the size of small countries, with six tents on them.
- Water and LightAerial work over the delta, and reflections that only exist for the weeks of the flood.
- The MakgadikgadiDrive onto the pan at night and there is no horizon and no sound at all.
03Why go
The case for Botswana.
Why Visit This Country
Fewer People Than Elephants
Two and a half million people, a hundred and thirty thousand elephant, and space for both.
Hidden Gems
The Makgadikgadi
Drive onto the pan at night and there is no horizon and no sound at all.
Eco Tourism
Community Trusts
Concessions leased through community trusts, so the villages hold the lease and the income.
Heritage
Diamonds and Democracy
Independent since 1966, and the one African country that used its diamonds well.
04Go deeper
All of Botswana, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Botswana starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.