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Nxai Pan National Park.

A Makgadikgadi pan park famed for Baines' Baobabs and a seasonal zebra and wildebeest migration, barely changed since 1862.

BotswanaBest time to visit
December to April

About this destination

Nxai Pan National Park sits at the northern edge of the Makgadikgadi pan system, a fossil lakebed whose grasslands transform each wet season into prime grazing for zebra and wildebeest arriving on Botswana's second-largest migration, trailed by lion and cheetah. The park's standout feature is Baines' Baobabs, a cluster of ancient trees painted by explorer Thomas Baines in 1862 and essentially unchanged since, rising from a smaller clay pan a short drive from the main camp. Dry-season game drives concentrate wildlife around the park's handful of waterholes, while the wet season rewards visitors with newborn zebra foals and dramatic afternoon thunderstorms over open plains.

Coordinates

-19.91844, 24.80130

Best time to visit

December to April

Location

N°01 · Highlights

N°01

✦Baines' Baobabs visits

N°02

✦Zebra migration (wet season)

N°03

✦Game drives

N°04

✦Predator sightings

N°05

✦Birdwatching

N°06

✦Open plains photography

N°03 · Where to Stay

camp

Kwando Nxai Pan Camp

The only permanent, solar-powered camp inside Nxai Pan National Park, overlooking an active, year-round waterhole. Nine thatched, en-suite suites — eight standard plus one family suite — each have a private veranda facing the waterhole, making this a prime base for the park's seasonal zebra and wildebeest migrations, visits to Baines' Baobabs, and San Bushman cultural walks.

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self catering

Nxai Pan South Camp

A public, self-catering campsite run by Botswana's national parks authority near Nxai Pan's second entrance gate, shaded by mature trees. Ten sites each have their own fire pit, braai stand and ablution facilities, and the camp is a popular self-drive base during the May–June and November–December zebra and wildebeest migrations to the pan.

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