Okavango Delta

Pros & Cons

• Excellent wildlife viewing with four of the Big Five easily spotted
• Off-road driving is permitted, which facilitates quality sightings
• Great birding destination, especially for waterbirds
• Game drives, night drives, walking safaris and mokoro trips are available
• A large choice of small, exclusive camps
• The Okavango is an expensive destination
• Widlife viewing is limited in the water-based camps

Wildlife

The delta is a vast area and wildlife viewing is dependent on your location. Moremi Game Reserve is the most productive and four of the Big Five are easily seen. Rhino are present in Moremi, but not seen that often. Elephant and hippo are abundant throughout the delta and wild dogs are quite common. The water-loving red lechwe and waterbuck are easy to see from a mokoro.

• More about Okavango Delta's wildlife

Scenery

The Okavango is the world’s largest intact delta. It is fed by the river with the same name during the driest months. The fan-shaped delta is a mosaic of papyrus-fringed channels connecting open areas filled with water lilies. Islands in between carry borassus palms and thickets of acacia and mopane woodland.

Weather & Climate

The Okavango Delta has a Dry season that extends from April to October. Afternoon temperatures are warm and pleasant until September, with the heat quickly building to a fierce peak the following month. Then the rains break, announcing the start of the Wet season (November to March), and the delta starts to cool down a little. It remains reasonably hot in the afternoon, but the morning is especially pleasant.

• More about the weather and climate

Best Time to Visit

Water levels in the delta are most conducive to mokoro (dugout canoe) trips in the Dry season (April to October). This is also the best time to see wildlife, putting aside the heat that dominates the two months before the rains come. You can still see animals in the heart of the delta in the Wet season (November to March), but storms and lower water levels can limit activities.

• More about the best time to visit

Want to Visit Okavango Delta?

• Okavango Delta safaris and tours
• Tour operators for Okavango Delta