Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

Overview

The Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve, a salt pan in the middle of the dry savannah of north-eastern Botswana is one of the largest salt flats in the World. It lies southeast of the Okavango Delta and surrounded by the Kalahari Desert. The pans themselves are salty desert whose only plant life is a thin layer of blue green algae and very little wildlife can exist here during the harsh dry season. But after rains, the pan becomes an important habitat for migrating animals including wildebeest and one of Africa’s biggest zebra populations, and the large predators that prey on them. The wet season also brings migratory birds such as ducks, geese, duck and great white pelicans. Other common wildlife in the park includes eland, lions, zebras, cheetah, gemsbok, springbok, red hartebeest, bushbuck, steenbok and elephants

Among the many things to do in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park are safari rides, game drives, bird watching, tour of the Gweta, Bush walks.

 

Best time to visit

Both the dry season and the rainy season are a good time to visit Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, but it is important to choose the right time depending on the kind of experience you are looking for. The pan itself is only accessible during the dry season; from around July to mid-October, when the glaring white surface spreads so far that you can see the curvature of the earth