Kalahari Desert
Best Time To Go:
Year Round
Time Difference:
GMT +1 hour
Flight Duration:
11 hours approx
Airports:
Maun (MUB)
The Kalahari reveals a very different side of Botswana. Here, the waterways and floodplains of the north give way to vast grasslands, salt pans and ancient riverbeds, with horizons that seem to go on forever. It can look sparse at first, but spend a little time here and the landscape begins to show just how much life it supports.
Game drives head out across the open plains in search of black-maned Kalahari lions, cheetah, brown hyena and African wild dog, alongside oryx, springbok and smaller desert specialists such as meerkats, bat-eared foxes and aardwolves. The green season brings one of the biggest changes, when summer rains turn the dry plains green and zebra and wildebeest arrive in large numbers, drawing predators close behind.
There is more to the Kalahari than wildlife. Time spent with San communities offers an insight into a relationship with this landscape that stretches back thousands of years, from reading animal tracks to understanding the plants used for food and medicine. And then there is the simple experience of being somewhere this open and remote – long days on safari, very little between you and the horizon, and some of Botswana's darkest night skies overhead.
itinerary inspiration for the kalahari desert
Ultimate Botswana Desert & Delta
8 nights from £8,295 per person
our favourite hotels in chobe
Deception Valley Lodge
Kalahari
5 Star
Feline Fields
Kalahari
5 Star
Dinaka, Ker & Downey
Kalahari
5 star
photos of the kalahari desert
Meet our Africa Expert - Elliot
Shortly after joining the travel industry in 2013, Elliot had his first taste of Africa, with an unforgettable safari in Tanzania. The raw, untamed wildness and unique beauty had him hooked from day one. He has since explored a dozen African countries in depth, mostly in Southern and East Africa. Elliot proposed to his wife in Botswana and they honeymooned in Uganda.
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