Botswana is a landlocked country in the centre of Southern Africa, bordering Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Most of Botswana is actually a desert, with about 75% of the country occupied by the Kalahari Desert. While the flat and arid horizon of the Kalahari represents the essence of Botswana, the Okavango Delta is an oasis formed by the homonymous river, that gathers the rains of Angola and carries them flowing for 1,600 km to the Kalahari. Here the waters of the Okavango form one of the largest inland delta in the world, creating a unique ecosystem. Botswana is a stable democracy, with a growing economy, based on the careful and responsible utilization of its natural resources. Pioneer in conservation, it has always been at the forefront in the fight against poaching and at the cutting edge in promoting sustainable tourism. About 40% of the national territory is protected by natural reserves and parks: a unique patchwork of habitats and ecosystems free from fences and therefore wonderfully wild. Each area features different, interacting habitats and hosts hundreds of species of plants and animals. In the Chobe lives the largest population of elephants in Africa, the floodplains of Linyanti and Moremi Game Reserve are hunting ground to the endangered African wild dogs, in the reeds of the Okavango Delta hides the elusive sitatunga antelope, while in the Makgadikgadi the restless meerkats dig their long tunnels. A safari in Botswana means not only thrilling adventures in nature and surprising encounters with the African wildlife, it is a time-travel to discover the culture and the traditions of the Bushmen, hunter-gatherers who have lived for millennia in the Kalahari.
