Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park covers nearly 11700 square kilometers in northern Botswana and is divided into four distinct ecosystems: the Serondela area along the Chobe River, the Savuti Channel region, the Linyanti Marshes, and the drier hinterland. The park takes its name from the Chobe River, a tributary of the Zambezi that forms its northern boundary and draws enormous concentrations of wildlife during the dry season when water becomes scarce elsewhere across the region. This is arguably Botswana's best park for elephants with an estimated population of around 50000 animals that can be seen in remarkable numbers from the riverbanks particularly around Nogatsaa and Taranganda where herds of over 100 elephants are regularly observed crossing the river or bathing in its shallows.

Game drives through the park's four-wheel-drive circuits reveal different facets of the landscape and its inhabitants while boat cruises on the Chobe River offer exceptional close encounters with hippos, crocodiles, and elephants as they come to drink and bathe at close range. Chobe also supports large herds of buffalo, zebra, and impala along with predators including lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and the endangered African wild dog. The park's geographic diversity is striking: riverfront forest, open floodplain, marshland, and mopane woodland each supporting distinct wildlife communities that shift dramatically with the seasons.

The Savuti Channel which dried up for several decades starting in the early 1980s and only resumed flowing in recent years has transformed the adjacent marshland and the wildlife dynamics in that part of the park in dramatic fashion. The combination of river, floodplain, and woodland makes Chobe one of the most ecologically diverse parks in Botswana and its proximity to Victoria Falls about 90 kilometers away makes it a natural pairing with one of the world's greatest natural spectacles for travelers combining safari with a visit to the falls. Chobe was Botswana's first national park, established in 1967, and remains one of the country's most visited protected areas.

The Chobe River also forms part of the Zambezi River system and the park's proximity to the four-country junction of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe makes it a key site for regional conservation efforts. The dry season concentrations of elephants along the Chobe River are among the most spectacular wildlife sights in Africa, with herds of hundreds of animals visible from the riverbank as they cross, drink, and bathe. Photographers particularly favor the golden light of the dry season mornings and evenings when the elephants are most active and the contrast between the animals and the river's backdrops is most striking.

Chobe holds one of the largest elephant populations in Africa with regular sightings of herds exceeding 100 individuals.

The park's four distinct ecosystems offer diverse wildlife viewing experiences within a single park.

Boat cruises on the Chobe River provide unique close encounters with hippos, crocodiles, and bathing elephants.