Chobe National Park, Botswana

Chobe National Park, established as Botswana's first national park in 1968, spans approximately 11,700 square kilometers in the northern part of the country near the town of Kasane and the borders of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It forms part of the expansive Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. The park encompasses four distinct geographical regions: the Chobe Riverfront in the northeast with lush floodplains and dense riverine woodlands; the Savuti Marsh in the west, a savanna ecosystem fed intermittently by the tectonic Savuti Channel; the Linyanti Marsh in the northwest featuring lagoons and riverine forests; and the dry, clay-pan interior of Nogatsaa.The park is internationally renowned for harboring one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa, including an estimated population of over 50,000 Kalahari elephants. During the dry season from May to October, thousands of elephants and Cape buffalo gather along the Chobe River and Linyanti waterways. The park is also home to large prides of lions, leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, giraffes, hippopotamuses, and Nile crocodiles. The Chobe Riverfront is notably the only area in Botswana where the puku antelope can be observed, alongside other species like the sable, roan, and red lechwe. Additionally, over 460 bird species have been recorded, including African fish eagles, carmine bee-eaters, and Pel's fishing owls.Historically, the land was inhabited by the nomadic San (Basarwa) hunter-gatherers, whose ancient rock paintings can still be found on rocky hills within the park. In the early 20th century, the region formed part of British Bechuanaland crown lands, and timber logging operated at Serondela until commercial human settlements were fully phased out by 1975. Today, visitors explore Chobe through open 4x4 game drives, riverboat safari cruises, photographic excursions, and self-drive routes accessible through entry gates such as Sedudu, Ngoma, and Mababe.