Chobe National Park in Botswana is especially known for its elephants, having one of the largest concentrations of elephants in Africa, but that is really only part of what makes it so special.
I had the chance to visit Chobe on WT’s Botswana Wildlife Safari, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Between the river, open floodplains, woodlands, and more remote areas of the park, there is a huge variety of wildlife and landscapes to experience. Chobe National Park was one of the places in Botswana that really stood out to me because of how much wildlife you can see in such a short amount of time.
What also makes Chobe different from a lot of other African safari destinations is the Chobe River. You can spend the morning on a traditional game drive and then head out on the river in the afternoon for a completely different safari experience. Seeing elephants, hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, and other wildlife from the water was one of my favorite parts. There is something really special about watching elephants come down to drink or walk right into the river while you are sitting in a boat nearby.
Chobe is also much bigger and more diverse than I realized before visiting. The park covers roughly 11,700 square kilometers, or about 4,500 square miles, and is divided into several different regions, each with its own landscapes and wildlife experience. The Chobe Riverfront is the area most people know, but our group also went to Savuti (in Chobe), known for its open plains, predators, and dramatic wildlife sightings. Because the park is so large, visiting different parts of Chobe can feel like completely different safari experiences.
Where Is Chobe National Park?
Chobe National Park is in northern Botswana, close to the borders of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Namibia. The town of Kasane sits right outside the park and is the main gateway for most visitors. This makes Chobe especially easy to combine with Victoria Falls, which is just across the border in Zimbabwe, or Livingstone in Zambia.
The park is large, so when people say they are “visiting Chobe,” they may actually be staying in very different parts of it. The Chobe Riverfront, near Kasane, is the most accessible area and is famous for its huge elephant and buffalo herds along the river. Farther south is Savuti, which feels much more remote and has a completely different landscape of open grasslands, dry channels, and woodland. Savuti is especially known for predators like lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, and hyenas, and you can expect fantastic sightings on a Botswana safari.
When to Visit Chobe National Park
You can visit Chobe throughout the year, but the experience changes a lot depending on the season. The dry season, the most popular time to visit Botswana, generally runs from around May through October and is considered one of the best times for wildlife viewing. As water becomes harder to find throughout the park, animals are drawn toward water sources like the Chobe River, making it much easier to see large concentrations of wildlife.
I visited in April, which is toward the end of the green season and the beginning of the transition into the dry season. I really enjoyed visiting at this time because everything was still very green and lush, but we still had incredible wildlife sightings. If your main goal is seeing huge numbers of elephants and other wildlife gathered around the Chobe River, the dry season might be for you. But there really isn’t a bad time to visit Chobe—it just depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for.
Wildlife in Chobe National Park
While Chobe is best known for its huge herds of elephants, you can expect to see plenty of other big game animals on a safari here, like lions and giraffes.
Elephants
One of my favorite parts of Chobe was seeing the huge herds of elephants gathered along the Chobe River. There were elephants everywhere, but seeing the babies mixed in was so special. Watching them follow closely behind their mothers, play in the water, and interact with the rest of the group was adorable to watch.
Lions
We were lucky enough to see several lion prides in both Savuti and along the Chobe Riverfront. A few of the sightings were surprisingly close to our camp, which was a reminder that we were truly out in the bush. Seeing lions in the wild never really got old, especially when we were able to sit and watch the dynamics within the pride for a while.
African Wild Dogs
Being an endangered species in Botswana, African wild dogs are already a rare sight on safari. Even rarer is getting to follow an entire pack on a hunt, which made this one of the craziest wildlife moments of the trip. We watched the pack chase down a full grown wildebeest and actually take it down. It was intense, incredible, and such a reminder of how unpredictable safari can be.
Giraffes
Giraffes were one of the animals we saw throughout Botswana, including plenty in Chobe National Park, and they quickly became one of my favorites to photograph. They are such beautiful animals to watch, especially when you see them moving across the open landscape. Some of my favorite photos from the trip were their silhouettes against the sky during sunrise and sunset.
Cheetah
We were lucky enough to spot a cheetah on one of our early morning game drives, which was especially exciting since they are one of my favorite animals. We only saw one during the trip, so the sighting felt even more special.
Staying in Chobe National Park
One of the most unique ways to experience Chobe is by staying in a mobile safari camp. I did this on the Botswana Wildlife Safari, and I honestly think it gives you a much more immersive experience than staying in traditional lodges. The camps are set up exclusively for the group in more remote areas, so you are really out in the bush and away from the busier lodge areas.
The mobile camps have walk-in canvas tents, battery-powered lighting, actual beds with sheets, pillows, and duvets, and a small veranda out front. Each tent also has its own private bathroom at the back with a toilet, sink, and warm-water shower. There is no need to set anything up yourself—the safari camp staff moves and sets up the entire camp and also prepares all of the meals (which were delicious).
There’s a large open-sided dining tent where meals are served, and at night everyone gathers around the campfire. For me, this was a huge part of the experience. You still have a comfortable bed, good meals, and your own bathroom, but at night you can hear the sounds of the bush right outside your tent. It feels much more integrated with wildlife.
There are also plenty of wildlife lodges in and around Chobe for travelers booking their own journey—many tend to be geared toward luxury travel. While many lodges have great amenities, you’ll miss out on the immersion in the bush that mobile safari camps give you, since the camps are able to move around every day of your safari.
What to Pack
Packing for Chobe is pretty straightforward, but there are a few things I was especially glad to have with me. Since we spent a lot of time outside on game drives, boat safaris, and around camp, I tried to focus on lightweight, comfortable clothing that I could layer.
Planning a Trip to Chobe
If you want to see more than just one side of Botswana, Wilderness Travel’s Botswana Wildlife Safari is a great way to do it. The trip combines some of Botswana’s best national parks and wildlife areas, including the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, and Savuti in Chobe National Park, so every few days the landscape and safari experience completely changes. You also travel between camps by private charter flights, which means less time on long drives and more time actually out looking for wildlife.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chobe National Park in Botswana is special for its elephant concentration—it’s home to one of the largest elephant populations on Earth, with over 100,000 estimated individuals calling the park home.
The best months to visit Chobe National Park are the peak dry season months of August through October, when seeing wildlife concentrated around watering holes is common, and the green season months of February through April for fewer tourists and lusher landscapes.
You cannot see all five of the Big 5 (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo) in Chobe because there are no longer wild rhinos in the park—they’ve been wiped out from past poaching.
There are generally no rhinos in Chobe National Park—a sighting is exceedingly rare. To see rhinos on your trip to Botswana, visit private reserves like the Moremi Game Reserve.
Yes, you should take anti-malaria medication on your trip to Chobe, especially if you visit during the green season. Talk to your doctor before you trip about the best preventative measures for you.
May 18, 2026
