Makgadikgadi Pans National Park

The Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is situated south of the Nxai Pan National Park in Botswana and forms with its huge salt pans an impressive surreal landscape. The formation of the salt pans started with the evaporation of a huge inland lake in central Botswana, which covered an area of about 60000 km². As a result of plate tectonics, the feeding rivers were cut off. In 1970 parts of today’s national park were declared as game reserve, which were then extended to the north up to the Maun-Nata tar road in 1992 and proclaimed Makgadikgadi National Park.

The name may be a mouthful, but the reasons to visit Makgadikgadi Pans National Park are simple. For those who prefer solitude and silence this is paradise. Due to the absence of water the area of the national park has never been inhabited. The surrounding villages had the states permission to graze their herds on the fringes of the area.The pans are surrounded by open grasslands, which attract the largest zebra migration after Tanzania.

During the rainy season from December to March, large herds of zebras, oryx, wildebeests, impalas and springbuck roam the northern part of the Nxai Pan National Park. Elephants can be found along the Boteti River and there are waterholes big enough for hippos to stay in. You can go camping on Kubu Island, a rocky island at the edge of the Sowa Pan. The best time to travel to Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is in June and October as the pans are then dry and traversable.

Location: Gaborone, Botswana

Website: https://mistersafari.com/makgadikgadi-pans/

Hour: Open all hours

Google Rating: 4.5/5