Linyanti, Botswana

The Linyanti is completely different to the Okavango Delta and should be included in your Botswana safari itinerary to give you a varied safari experience. It has permanent water and the swamps that are prevalent in the Okavango. A small number of private camps share the Linyanti region, ensuring that guests are able to view the abundant wildlife privately and exclusively.

Activities are diverse and you can experience game viewing by boat, open 4x4 vehicle and occasionally on foot on the banks of the Savuti Channel, the Linyanti River and the Selinda Spillway which links the Okavango and Linyati River systems. There are both day and night game drives which means you are able to view a larger number of animals and nocturnal species. Kings Pool Camp is famous for its elephant concentrations in the winter months.

For detailed and personalised advice as to how to access and get the most out of a trip to this region, please contact us.

National Geographic have made Linyanti famous by their extensive coverage of the area and it is first on the list for those looking for exceptional game viewing. Game drives are highly rewarding and the rangers are superb trackers.

Our favourite Linyanti Lodges:
Duma Tau - massive herds of elephant
Savuti Camp - most impressive hide for game viewing
Kings Pool - elephants drink out of your shower!

A famous wildlife region, the Savuti Channel is best known for large numbers of predators, especially lion and hyena. In the past, the flowing waters of the Savuti Channel travelled from the Linyati marshes into the interior of the Chobe National Park. When the waters stopped flowing, what was then a river full of hippos became wide open grasslands. As in most of the Linyati, the Savuti is renowned for its elephant population. 

Snaking its way through the Selinda Reserve, the Selinda Spillway links the outer reaches of the Okavango Delta in the west with the Linyati and Kwando swamps, rivers and floodplains in the east. It is the only reserve with this link. The Selinda Spillway is a river that can flow in two directions, depending on where the water levels are highest. In most years it flows in both directions with water pushing 'up' from the Linyanti waterways and also 'down' from the west, fed by the waters of the Okavango Delta.

Overlooking the oxbow-shaped Kings Pool lagoon and the Linyati River, Kings Pool Camp is home to vast elephant populations during the winter months. The source of the Savuti Channel is at Kings Pool in northern Botswana. Many antelope species, giraffe, zebra, cats and hyena occur here. There is  excellent birdwatching in the reed and papyrus swamps. Twin-bedded tented rooms overlook a lagoon in front of the camp, full of grunting hippos lazing about.

Due to its remote location, the Linyanti is a fly-in destination. Maun is the closest airport to the Linyanti, but you could also use Kasane or Victoria Falls airports as entry points, especially if you are combining the Linyanti with a few nights at the Victoria Falls or Chobe National Park.