A lesser known side of ecotourism in Botswana: its salt pans (aka salt flats) especially those of this national park covering 3,900 square kilometres (1,506 square miles) up in the northeast and south of the Okavango Delta. It´s composed of a number of individual pans, the largest of which are Sua, Nxai, and Ntwetwe (pictured here). Their sweeping white vistas make for an otherworldly experience indeed (one fun activity here is racing across them on quad bikes), yet there´s also wildlife here which congregate around pools of water which form during the rainy season, such as gemsbok, springbok, wildebeest, zebras, and vast flocks of flamingos. Makgadikgadi also has vast grasslands where you can spot all the above (except the flamingos) along with cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, and lions. You can get here from Gaborone in about six hours by flying up to Maun, then driving.


Fabio Achilli