Top 10 Best Things To See and Do in Botswana

One of the most popular safari destinations in Africa, Botswana is an enormous, sparsely populated country with vast areas of protected wilderness, a rich variety of wildlife, and an ancient history and culture. There are numerous things to see and do in Botswana, from the classic safari experience to exploring lesser-known areas, such as giant salt pans and remote lakes surrounded by hundreds of bird species. As a helpful starting point, we’ve suggested where to go in Botswana, along with some of the top things to do in Botswana.

1. Experience Real Isolation in the Vast Makgadikgadi Pans

Botswana’s huge salt pans were once submerged by a lake the size of Switzerland. Today, the Makgadikgadi is home to a few remote camps, providing an often much-needed escape from modern life, a sense of solitude and the chance to discover a real wilderness. It’s one of the few places where you can truly feel cut off from the world and experience the ‘sound’ of absolute silence. A visit here is one of the most amazing things to do in Botswana, though not the first thing many will consider. Take a quad bike out over the pans or go for a walk with the San Bushmen. And there’s no shortage of wildlife either: you might spot elephants (in the west of the park, near the Boteti River), lions, wildebeest and zebra herds, brown hyenas, meerkats and even cheetahs.

Makgadikgadi Pans Tours

2. Mokoro Through the Okavango Delta

A mokoro – a traditional dug-out canoe – is a popular way to explore one of the most famous tourist attractions in Botswana, the Okavango Delta, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. A relaxing mokoro journey through the waterways of the Delta will allow you to see the smaller things you’d miss on a game drive: tiny reed frogs, fluttering butterflies, little, brightly colored birds and pretty water lilies. The only sounds are those of the canoe being pushed through the water, and the lack of noise makes it much easier to spot birdlife that might be startled by the loud engine of a safari vehicle. From a safe distance, you might spot elephants splashing or hippos cooling off in the shallows.

Okavango Delta Tours

3. Meet the Elephants of Chobe

Chobe National Park is home to over 120,000 elephants, making it one of the top places on the planet to see these huge mammals in their natural environment. Huge herds gather at the riverfront at the end of the Dry season, between August and October. You can self-drive in Chobe, which makes it a great park to visit for those on a road trip or on a budget, and you can also easily do a day trip from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe or Zambia. Go on a sundowner river cruise for the best photo opportunities of elephants silhouetted against the dramatic African sunset.

Chobe Tours

4. Walk With the Bushmen

The San Bushmen are the oldest people of southern Africa, having lived here for at least 20,000 years. As such, they’ve accumulated an enormous amount of knowledge about this land, which is passed down to each generation. Their lifestyle is changing, but they still hold onto their ancestral knowledge and customs. In various places throughout the Kalahari, you can join the Bushmen for an early morning walk. They’ll reveal to you a few of the secrets of their land, such as which plant’s roots can provide water, which branches make the best arrows and how to track animals.

Kalahari Desert Tours

5. Find the Buffalo-Hunting Lions

Botswana’s lions are fierce and well practiced at hunting the most dangerous of prey, the buffalo. Buffalo are very difficult to take down and require a team of experienced lionesses working together. The Okavango Delta is one of the easiest places to see this behavior, which is fascinating, but also confronting; those of a sensitive disposition may prefer to look away. Often, once a buffalo has been successfully pinned down, it still takes 30 minutes or so to die – and as soon as it does, the male lions appear and the hard-working females have to back off, waiting their turn to feed. Remember, however, that sightings of such encounters are never guaranteed and are more the exception rather than the norm.

Botswana Tours

6. Discover Ancient Rock Art

Evidence of cultures and peoples from thousands of years ago, examples of rock art are found all over the African continent. But Botswana has one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world. The Tsodilo Hills are located in the far northwest of the country and Unesco estimates there to be over 4,500 pieces of art in just a 10km²/4mi² area. The rock art is thought to date from the Stone Age (which began around 3.4 million years ago) to the 19th century, depicting ritual dances, hunting and wildlife. For history buffs, this sacred place is one of the must-see tourist attractions in Botswana.

7. Sleep Under the Stars

As a country the size of France, but with only two million inhabitants, one of the best things to see in Botswana is the night sky unaffected by light pollution. Many camps offer sleepouts on a platform with a guide nearby for safety. Falling asleep under the stars is an incredibly romantic experience to add to a honeymoon or trip with your partner. For those who don’t fancy a night out in the open, ask your guide to drive you away from the lights of your lodge to spend some time admiring the stars in their full glory.

Botswana Honeymoon Tours

8. Digitally Detox

It might not be the first thing you think of when planning a safari, but one of the healthiest things to do in Botswana is to switch off. The best thing is that you’ll be largely forced into it anyway, as Botswana’s safari destinations are in such remote areas and (an albeit shrinking number of) camps and lodges don’t have Wi-Fi. Use it as an excuse to fully detach yourself from your device, put your ‘out of office’ on and break the cycle of endless scrolling. You’ll feel a lot better for it and, with no distractions, you’ll really get the most out of the safari experience.

9. Go Birding at Lake Ngami

This lake is home to a rich variety of birds ­– ­some common, some endangered – including greater and lesser flamingo, lesser kestrel, Hartlaub’s babbler and Kalahari robin. Aside from the birding opportunities, the lake is one of the most interesting things to see in Botswana because of its regular disappearing act. It vanished shortly after David Livingstone visited it in 1849 and then refilled at the end of the 19th century. Even when it’s dry, there is plenty of birdlife around – but when full, it’s a birder’s dream.

10. Explore the World of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Author Alexander McCall Smith increased Botswana’s international prominence with his popular series, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, which is based in the capital Gaborone. Fans of the books and televised series can explore the city on a tour that visits the real-life home of Precious Ramotswe on Zebra Drive, her office, located opposite Speedy Motors, and even head out of the city to visit her family home in Machudi.

By Heather Richardson

UK

Heather Richardson is an award-winning travel writer, based in South Africa. She is interested in conservation stories, emerging destinations and adventure travel.

Share Article: