Savuti
Lions that hunt elephants, hyenas that steal their kills, and a river channel that vanishes for decades: Savuti has supplied wildlife film-makers with some of their most dramatic footage. This remote south-western corner of Chobe National Park – open grassland, dead camelthorn trees and rocky outcrops – is the predator capital among Botswana tourist attractions.
The Savuti Marsh is the remnant of an ancient inland lake that once covered much of northern Botswana. Today it is a flat, grassy plain fringed by low hills of volcanic rock, the Gubatsa Hills, whose ancient shorelines can still be traced. The skeletons of trees that drowned when the channel last flooded stand on the plain like sculptures, giving Savuti one of the most distinctive landscapes in the country.
Why visit Savuti?
Lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, cheetahs and wild dogs all compete for the same prey, and their rivalries are often played out in plain view. The Savuti Channel, which flows and dries up unpredictably with tectonic shifts, adds a touch of mystery.
Savuti's lion prides became famous in the 1990s for learning to hunt young elephants during the dry season, behaviour rarely recorded elsewhere. The channel itself stopped flowing in the early 1980s and stayed dry for almost three decades before water returned around 2008, transforming the marsh again. Whether the channel is full or empty, the area concentrates wildlife in a way that makes every game drive unpredictable.
Getting there and around
Savuti lies about 170 kilometres south-west of Kasane and 180 kilometres north-east of Maun, along deep-sand tracks that demand a high-clearance 4x4 and experience. Lodge guests usually fly in. Guided overland trips handle the driving: both the Explore the Okavango and Chobe camping tour and the 9-day Okavango Delta to Victoria Falls safari stop here between Khwai and the Chobe riverfront.
The drive from Kasane takes five to six hours, much of it on soft sand that can bog down unprepared vehicles. In the rainy season some routes turn to thick black-cotton mud, and the marsh road may become impassable. Inside Savuti, a network of tracks loops around the marsh, the channel and the hills, so even a two-night stay allows you to cover most of the area.
Highlights not to miss
- Savuti Marsh: Open plains where predators hunt and zebras gather during migration. Waterholes here draw elephants all day in the dry season.
- Savuti Channel: Elephants, buffalo and hippos line it in the years it flows, and its banks are a favourite hunting ground for lions.
- Gubatsa Hills: San rock paintings of animals and people, thought to be several thousand years old.
- Leopard Rock: Outcrops favoured by leopards and klipspringers, with sweeping views over the plains.
Practical tips
Reserve the public campsite early and lock food away – elephants and hyenas visit nightly. Carry spare fuel and water, and expect fierce heat in October and November.
There are no shops or fuel stations in Savuti, so stock up in Kasane or Maun. The campsite is unfenced and wildlife walks through freely, so stay close to your vehicle after dark and never leave fruit, especially oranges, in your tent – elephants can smell it from far away.
Best time to visit
June to October brings predators to the waterholes. From November to February thousands of zebras pass through on their migration between the Linyanti and the Mababe Depression, with predators following and migrant birds filling the green landscape.
The wet season is also excellent for birdwatching, with large flocks of storks, kestrels and bee-eaters, and the dramatic storm skies over the marsh are a photographer's dream. The trade-off is heat, humidity and muddy tracks.
Accommodation and food
A public campsite and a handful of luxury lodges in Savuti and the neighbouring Linyanti concession offer full board and guided drives.
Lodge stays usually include two game drives a day, meals and drinks, and some camps overlook waterholes that attract elephants right in front of the deck. Mobile safari operators set up private camps in the public campsite, combining the experience of camping with the comfort of a full crew.
How does it compare to other Botswana tourist attractions?
The Chobe riverfront is about elephant herds and boat cruises; Savuti is about raw predator action in a dry, open setting – far quieter, and a perfect counterpoint to canoe safaris in the Okavango Delta.
Compared with the lush, watery reserves of the delta, Savuti feels wild and stark, and it receives far fewer visitors than either the riverfront or Moremi.
In summary
Big-cat enthusiasts should plan two or three nights here on the overland route from Moremi to Chobe.
