Botswana—‘The Peaceful Nation’—is elemental Africa, among the last of earth’s untamed preserves.
There’s arguably no better place to be blown right away by the African outdoors than landlocked Botswana, nevertheless home to the world’s most legendary inland delta: the mighty Okavango, drawing a raft of epic migrations to end with a slosh in its web of watery channels. Roaming and speckling the waterways and their banks are buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, elephants and big cats aplenty, along with a kaleidoscopic array of birds, best spotted in summer (November–April).
But there’s more than the legendary Delta: tucked away in Botswana’s northernmost reaches, Linyanti likewise delivers a sensory bang with lesser-known species galore, from the regal roan to the Chobe bushbuck to the swamp-dwelling sitatunga. Vivid contrasts await to the south amid the brilliant salt pans of Nxai Pan and the great Kalahari. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s home to cheetahs, leopards, black-maned lions and more. Amid the whopping abundance of wildlife, a conspicuous absence of crowds remains the norm, tourism having been strictly restrained to remain within low-impact bounds. Thanks to such light, measured footfall, Botswana has nurtured and sustained its enviable heritage of biodiversity, one that’s hardly rivalled anywhere in Africa—or the world.
