Botswana

Overview

Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Much of the country is covered by the Kalahari Desert, which, as a semi-arid scrubland, resembles sparse savanna more than a classic sand desert. Botswana gained independence from Britain in 1966 and has since been regarded as one of Africa's most stable democracies, aided in part by economic and political stability linked to diamond mining revenue. The official language is English, while Setswana is the most widely spoken language.

Gaborone, the capital, is a relatively young city, having been planned and built as an administrative center at the time of independence in 1966. The Okavango Delta, which forms a vast inland wetland in the middle of the Kalahari Desert without ever reaching the sea, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014; the river's water spreads out across the desert and evaporates or seeps into the ground rather than flowing to the ocean. Chobe National Park, along the Chobe River, is home to one of the largest elephant populations on the continent. The Tsodilo Hills, a UNESCO World Heritage site, preserve thousands of rock paintings, some of which are several thousand years old.

In the Okavango Delta, wildlife viewing is traditionally done from a mokoro, a narrow wooden canoe suited to navigating the delta's shallow water channels. In Chobe National Park, riverside safaris regularly reveal lions, hippos, and crocodiles alongside large elephant herds, especially during the dry season. In the southern Kalahari, within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the traditional way of life and tracking techniques of the San people can be experienced on guided tours. Local cuisine is built around pap, a cornmeal porridge reflecting Bantu culinary traditions, often served with dried meat (biltong) and vegetables.