The Makgadikgadi is like nowhere else. Once a great lake, it is now an immense salt pan that stretches to the horizon, broken only by the odd island of baobabs. It is a place of huge skies and deep silence, of habituated meerkats and San bushmen, and in the green season, of zebra migrating in their thousands.

Why go

What makes Makgadikgadi Pans special

Meerkats

Sit quietly while a habituated meerkat colony goes about its morning, sometimes using a guest as a lookout post.

Walking with the San

Walk the desert with San guides and learn how they have read this land for thousands of years.

The zebra migration

In the green season, Botswana's great zebra migration moves through Nxai Pan, drawing predators in its wake.

Star skies and quad biking

Ride out across the pans in the dry season and sleep under some of the darkest, clearest skies you will ever see.

Where to stay

A few of the camps we love

We choose the right camp for you from many we know well. Here is a taste of the styles on offer.

Jack's Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans

Jack's Camp

Makgadikgadi Pans

The iconic pans camp, gloriously stylish, with habituated meerkats, San walks and quad biking across the salt.

More about this camp
Meno a Kwena, Boteti River

Meno a Kwena

Boteti River

Characterful and perched above the Boteti, where zebra in their thousands come to drink in the dry months.

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San Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans

San Camp

Makgadikgadi Pans

Elegant white canvas on the edge of the great nothingness, beautifully done, blending comfort with the emptiness.

More about this camp
When to go

Best time to visit Makgadikgadi Pans

The dry season from May to October is wonderful for the meerkats, the walks and that sense of vast emptiness. The green season from December to April brings the zebra migration and newborn wildlife to Nxai Pan, while in the dry months the zebra mass instead along the Boteti River, so there is a spectacle at both ends of the year.

See our full when to go guide →
Safaris here

Trips that visit Makgadikgadi Pans

Fly safari · 11 daysMeerkats standing sentry on the grasslands

Delta & the Pans

Okavango · Makgadikgadi

Water, wildlife and the salt pans in one trip.

From£5,875 to £9,175per person
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Mobile safari · 10 daysBlack-maned Kalahari lion

Lion Mobile Safari

Central Kalahari · Moremi

Follow the wildlife by 4x4.

From£2,425 to £2,615per person
Find out more →
Fly safari · 8 daysElephant in the tall green grass of the Delta

Botswana Focus

Delta · Moremi · Chobe

A wonderful first taste of Botswana.

From£3,960 to £5,545per person
Find out more →

Let us plan your Makgadikgadi Pans safari

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