Chobe holidays

The Chobe National Park, which is the second largest national park in Botswana and covers 10,566 square kilometres, has one of the greatest concentrations of game found on the African continent. Its uniqueness in the abundance of wildlife and the true African nature of the region, offers a safari experience of a lifetime.

The park is divided into four distinctly different eco systems: Serondela with its lush plains and dense forests in the Chobe River area in the extreme north-east; the Savuti Marsh in the west; the Linyanti Swamps in the north-west and the hot dry hinterland in between.

A major feature of Chobe National Park is its elephant population currently estimated at around 120,000. The Chobe elephant are migratory, making seasonal movements of up to 200 kilometres from the Chobe and Linyanti rivers, where they concentrate in the dry season, to the pans in the southeast of the park, to which they disperse in the rains.

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Top things to do in Chobe

Engage with the local community

Many of the lodges in the Chobe have great sustainable tourism initiatives from providing employment for members of the local community, to building schools and facilities for them with the revenue made from tourism. A visit to a local village will allow you to see the work that is being done first hand and witness the positive impact these initiatives can have, as well as learning about local culture, customs and way of life.

Guided wildlife walks

A nature walk in the company of a qualified guide allows you to learn about the complexity of the African bush from a completely different perspective. Once out of the vehicles the guides will teach you about the often ignored part of a safari experience, including recognising spoor, trees, plants and smaller wildlife that make the full ecosystem of the Chobe. You may even be lucky enough to encounter some of the larger wildlife on offer at the Chobe.

Wildlife drives including night drives

Chobe wildlife drives offer the opportunity of sighting a large variety of wildlife either in the morning, afternoon or as a full-day experience in the company of expert guides. Game drives are timed to offer the best chances of sighting active predators in the cooler temperatures of the early morning or late afternoon. Some of the lodges on the Chobe Forest Reserve side also offer special night drives, using spotlights to search for rarer nocturnal wildlife.

Wildlife viewing by boat on the Chobe River

The Chobe is renowned for the vast number of elephants concentrated around the river, particularly during the dry season. Morning and afternoon wildlife cruises on the Chobe river offer a great chance of sighting elephants alongside other mammals and birds that come to the shores of the river to drink, as well as the animals living in the river such as hippopotamuses. Boat cruises tend to offer snacks and sundowner drinks as part of a memorable cruise experience with great photography opportunities.