BTTE Travel Manual 2017

Chobe National Park
Linyanti & Savuti
Chobe National Park The Chobe National Park, second largest national park in Botswana,
covers 10,590 sq km and has the greatest concentrations of elephants found on the African
continent. The park is divided into four distinctly different eco systems: Serondela and Chobe
River with its lush plains and dense forests in the area in the extreme north-east; the Savuti
Marsh in the west about fifty kilometers north of Mababe gate; the Linyanti Swamps in the
north-west and the hot dry hinterland in between. A major feature of Chobe National Park is
its elephant population – the largest surviving continuous elephant population on earth. The
Chobe elephant are migratory, making seasonal movements of up to 200 kilometers from the
Chobe and Linyanti rivers, where they concentrate in the dry season, to the pans in the
southeast of the park, to which they disperse in the rains.
Savuti Often described as one of, if not the best, wildlife-viewing area in Africa today. Savuti
boasts one of the highest concentrations of wildlife left on the African continent. Animals are
present during all seasons, and at certain times of the year their numbers can be staggering.
Savuti is famous for its predators, particularly its resident lions that sometimes form large regal
pride big enough to take down adult elephants and spotted hyenas populations that engage
constantly in a battle with the lions. The revival of Savuti Channel which dried up three
decades ago has brought back the life that was.
Linyanti In the furthest corner of Chobe National Park lays the paradise of Linyanti. Secluded
and uncrowned, this short strip of swampy river frontage is reminiscent of the Okavango‘s
permanent waterways with papyrus-lined lagoons, reed-beds and a towering canopy of trees.
The wildlife is plentiful, especially in the dry winter months when great concentrations of
elephant, buffalo and zebra congregate along the river, with giraffe, impala and roan antelope
being seen in the forests.
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