Chobe National Park

Pros & Cons

• Excellent wildlife viewing
• Four of the Big Five present (rhino is absent)
• Ideal birding destination, especially for waterbirds
• Game drives and boat safaris available
• Excellent self-drive destination
• Most accommodation is outside the park
• The waterfront area near Kasane can get crowded
• Very hot in summer
• Limited safari circuits inside the park

Wildlife

Aside from elephants and buffalo, common waterbuck, plains zebras, impalas and puku are abundant on the floodplains and easily seen on boat safaris in the Dry season. Early morning game drives are most productive for finding predators such as lions and spotted hyenas. Although they are more secretive, you might be lucky to spot a leopard too.

• More about Chobe's wildlife

Scenery

Chobe’s lifeline is the Chobe River, which lazily meanders through savannah and woodland, and the floodplains are usually dotted with animals. The interior is a patchwork of mopane woodland and flat Kalahari sandveld (dry, sandy soil). The Savuti Marsh is another landmark in the park. It is mostly dry, and it is often compared to the Serengeti Plains.

Weather & Climate

Average daytime temperatures in the Dry season (April to October) start at 30°C/86°F in April, and by October they’ve climbed to a very hot 35°C/95°F. Conditions stay fairly hot in the first two months of the Wet season (November to March), before the heavy storms of January and February sweep away the worst of the heat.

• More about the weather and climate

Best Time to Visit

You can see animals year-round at Chobe, but the Dry season (April to October) is when wildlife viewing is at its best here, particularly along the southern bank of the park’s broad, namesake river. It gets better as the season progresses, but be warned that it gets hotter too.

• More about the best time to visit

Want to Visit Chobe NP?

• Chobe Safaris & Tours
  • Chobe Camping Safaris
  • Chobe Luxury Safaris
• Tour Operators for Chobe