TOP 3 ATTRACTIONS IN BOTSWANA, AFRICA

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Guyton / Posted in Africa

Botswana is a wealthy country. It has a booming diamond industry, a rich culture, and a thriving wildlife. Traveling there won’t give you the same heavy feeling that other South African countries are known for. It is free from apartheid which continues to haunt neighboring regions. Given its background, one can easily tell that its best attractions involve nature and the wild. Below are some of them and they are among the top reasons to visit Botswana.

The village of Mochudi in Botswana

3. Makgadikgadi Pan

What was once a lake is now one of the biggest salt flats in the world. The Makgadikgadi Pan is a salt flat set in the middle of the Kalahari Desert, northeast of Botswana. A massive lake larger than Switzerland used to be in its place before drying up and forming the pan. Rather than just one, it consists of a series of salt flats close enough to be mistaken for single pan.

During the most part of the year, the salt flat’s surface is made of a dry, salty crust of clay. But there are times when it is covered by grass and water. At which time, the place becomes a home for birds and animals. But that wouldn’t be the best time to go there, especially if you are after seeing the salt flat.

2. Chobe National Park

Situated in the northern part of Botswana, the Chobe National Park is one of the country’s most prominent reserves. It has the largest population of elephants in Africa. It has four distinct areas that separate plant and wildlife according to their ecosystem. Namely, they are the Chobe riverfront, Linyanti Marsh, hinterland, and the Savuti Marsh. The Chobe riverfront is a mixture of flooded plains and thick woodlands. It’s where most of the animals are. Linyanti and Savuti are both marshlands. Finally there is hinderland, a woodland in between the aforementioned marshes. Different species of animals can be spotted in all four areas depending on whether it is dry or wet season.

Tours at Chobe National Park

1. Central Kalahari Game Reserve

It is much larger than the Chobe National Park and is in fact the second biggest game reserve in the world. It is home to a wider array of wild animals such as brown hyenas, cheetahs, giraffes, lions, leopards, elands, kudus, blue wildebeests, red hartebeests, warthog, and even wild dogs. Unlike Chobe which has a variety of landscapes, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve mostly consists of flatlands