Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana

The Makgadikgadi Pans, the world's largest salt pans, are the most visible remnants of a superlake that was formed formed more than five million years ago. The lake was once 30 metres (100 feet) deep and covered a massive area of 80,000² km (30,888² miles), but as recently as 10,000 years ago, climatic shifts started to dry up Lake Makgadikgadi. Further evaporation turned the lake into large pans with a surface glistening with salt. Today The Makgadikgadi provides one of the most dramatic African safari travel experiences.

Rains turn dry pans into an oasis
Only a small section of pans occur within the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, and the largest pans in the world are outside the park boundaries. These include Ntwetwe Pan and Sowa Pan. Sowa is renowned for its rainy season Flamingo population and abundance of other water birds, which can be seen from the Nata Bird Sanctuary in the north of Sowa Pan.

The rainy season attract a spectacular array of waterbirds and dramatic migrations of Wildebeest and Zebra. The rains usually begin in November and ends in about March and the pans can retain water until April or May. The area is transformed as grasses sprout and the salt pans fill with algae soup. Large breeding flocks of Flamingo congregate here.

Winter days are pleasant and warm
The best time to visit the area is during the dry season from March to September. These months include the winter period where days are pleasant and warm, but nights become cold. From April to November great numbers of Antelope, Wildebeest and Zebra move from the south-east pans towards the Boteti River in the west, where rain is expected to fall in November.

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Directory of accommodation in Botswana