By air
Maun Airport (MUB), ~2.5 h by road to Gweta
Africa · Botswana
Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana
Salt pans, baobabs and endless horizons
Getting there
Best time to visit
May to October — dry for crossing the pans; December to March — zebra and flamingos
Don't miss
Kubu Island
Baines' Baobabs
Nxai Pan National Park
Things to do
Quad biking on the pans
Meerkat visits
Sleeping out under the stars
Zebra migration viewing
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Sunscreen, sunglasses, warm layers for cold nights
A quieter corner
Baines' Baobabs in Nxai Pan National Park
Questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Makgadikgadi Pans?
May to October — dry for crossing the pans; December to March — zebra and flamingos. What to pack: Sunscreen, sunglasses, warm layers for cold nights.
How do I get to Makgadikgadi Pans?
Fly into Maun Airport (MUB), ~2.5 h by road to Gweta.
What is there to do in Makgadikgadi Pans?
Quad biking on the pans, meerkat visits, sleeping out under the stars, zebra migration viewing. A quieter find: Baines' Baobabs in Nxai Pan National Park.
What should I eat in Makgadikgadi Pans?
Seswaa, pap and simple camp cooking.
About Makgadikgadi Pans
- Desert
Where it is
The Makgadikgadi Pans are a group of salt pans in north-eastern Botswana, among the largest in the world, lying in the dry savanna of the Kalahari.
History
The pans are the remains of a vast ancient lake that dried out long ago, and stone tools found here show people lived on its shores. The explorer and painter Thomas Baines sketched the baobabs that now bear his name in 1862.
People
Villages such as Gweta and Nata sit on the edge of the pans, home to Tswana and San communities who farm cattle and work at the safari camps.
Known for
- Vast white salt pans
- Rocky Kubu Island and its baobabs
- Zebra migration
- Habituated meerkats
Did you know?
When Sowa Pan floods in the rains it becomes one of the few breeding grounds for flamingos in southern Africa.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.