The Makgadikgadi Pans in northeastern Botswana are the remnants of one of Africa's largest prehistoric lakes — a vast expanse of salt flats and grassland covering over 12,000 square kilometres, creating one of the most surreal and otherworldly landscapes on the continent.
During the dry season the pans are a bleached white wilderness of salt and silence. With the first rains (November–April), the pans transform dramatically: zebra and wildebeest arrive in their tens of thousands for one of Africa's great but lesser-known migrations.
Highlights
Vast salt pans — surreal moonscape landscape
Zebra and wildebeest migration (November–April with rains)
Meerkats — habituated meerkat families at Jacks Camp
Flamingo flocks on flooded pans (seasonal)
Brown hyena, aardwolf, bat-eared fox
Stargazing — extraordinary dark skies far from any light pollution
Quad bike and horseback riding on the open pans
Quick Info
Country: Botswana
Gateway: Maun Airport
Best time: Dry season (May–October) for meerkat and desert wildlife; wet season (Nov–Apr) for migration