Botswana is a love story for any wildlife ethusiast. This is home to about one third of the world's elephant population and more than 400 different bird species.

Years ago, the Botswana government made a strategic decision to develop a tourist model based on high value and low ecological footprint. It means that most of the lodges are small and exclusive and the price of accommodation is higher than in many other countries. It allows for preservation of genuine wilderness and silence.

The Okavango Delta is one of the most sought after wilderness destinations in the world. This pristine wetlands area is the largest untouched inland delta in the world and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

The Okavango Delta owes its creation to a set of fault lines, weaknesses in the Earth's crust, formed by tectonic movement (which is still ongoing) along the  extension of the East African Rift Valley. The waters originate about 1600 km upstream in the Angolan highlands and start to fill the Delta in June.

Many of the local guides in Botswana have grown up in a village where animals, including the Big 5, roam freely. Their knowledge and understanding of the area and its inhabitants will leave you with a deeper appreciation of the delicate complexity, the resourcefulness and the wonder of the natural world. 

You are guaranteed to see herds of elephants, graceful impalas, waterbuck, probably the lechwe antelope, short-tempered hippos, migratory birds and impressive birds of prey.  Botswana is also a great place to spot the endangered African wild dog, lions, zebra, giraffes, leopard, vervet monkeys and hyenas.

Except for accommodation along the Chobe river front, most of the lodges in Botswana are intimate and exclusive with only 5-10 safari tents. Most of them are only accessible via light aircrafts such as a Cessna. This practice helps to preserve the wild and limits human footprint on the environment.