Ancient Lakes and Sprawling Salt Pans
The Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana offer a truly remarkable experience. Located south of Chobe, and southeast of the Okavango, Together these sprawling saltpans are some of the largest in the world with a collective area greater than Belgium. Desolate and arid, and yet teeming with life, the saltpans are home to meerkats, lions, and lonely baobab trees.
Location
Best time of year to visit
The Makgadikgadi Pans can be visited year round, but the pans themselves can only be accessed during the drier winter months (May to September). During the wetter months, flooding turns a number of access roads into sludge and navigating through the area is treacherous. However, there are a number of areas on the outskirts of the pans, which can be visited during the wetter months. These areas are great for both bird watching and game viewing. The area to the north of the pans experiences one of the world’s largest migrations of zebra and wildebeest, and if you are in Botswana during this time, a visit to the area is highly recommendable.
