Trip Description

Botswana’s contrasting ecosystems feel like separate worlds: there’s the Okavango Delta, an inland floodplain that seasonally saturates a corner of the parched Kalahari Desert and creates a green oasis that’s teeming with elephants, buffalo, and opportunistic crocodiles and lions. Lying in an arid region to the southeast, the Makgadikgadi salt pans are dotted with thick-trunked baobabs and subterranean-dwelling meerkats, and are home to the San people, who have relied on these lands for millennia. This nine-night trip to both regions will be led by one of Botswana’s most sought-after guides, the jovial and relentlessly candid Peter Allison (author of Whatever You Do Don’t Run and Don’t Look Behind You). The itinerary explores both the delta and the desert in myriad ways: take a mokoro, or canoe, through the hippo and croc-filled waterways, walk through the desert with the San people to learn about traditional medicines and foods, or take a helicopter trip to see ancient cave art in the Tsodilo Hills.

Lodgings embed guests in the heart of these singular landscapes. Mapula Lodge, composed of nine canvas-walled, thatch-roofed tents on an inlet in the Okavango, offers an optional island sleepout. In the Makgadikgadi salt pans, guests base themselves out of the world-famous Jack’s Camp, where nine double-canvas tents draped in crimson textiles preserve its 1940s-era vibe.

Pricing Details

• Double Occupancy Room $49,970
• Single Occupancy Room $30,395