Savuti
A savanna far from everything, famous for lions that hunt elephants: Savuti is the wildest — and sandiest — leg of the northern crossing.
Suggested stay — 1 to 2 nights
Between Moremi and the Chobe river, the Savuti region occupies the bed of a giant ancient lake, fed by a capricious channel that flows or dries over the decades. Its yellow-grass plains, rock-art kopjes and single campsite make it the mythic stage of the Botswana loop.
Its reputation rests on its predators: the hyena clans are enormous, and its lions have developed — vanishingly rare — the hunting of young elephants in the dry months. Access is on deep-sand tracks demanding low pressures, momentum and calm: this is the passage that makes the stories you tell afterwards.
Don't miss
- The campsite waterhole after dark: elephants, hyenas, sometimes lions a few metres away
- The Gubatsa kopjes and their rock paintings
- The Savuti Marsh plains in the late dry season, theatre of the great gatherings
- The Sandridge track itself: a life-size lesson in sand driving
Our tips on the ground
- Deflate hard (1.2-1.4 bar) before the sand stretches and reinflate at camp: THE Savuti key.
- Double your water and fuel: no resupply between Maun/Khwai and Kachikau.
- Savuti's elephants are notoriously edgy around vehicles: generous distances, engine running, never a boxed-in position.
On our publishing schedule
Coming soon“Botswana on your own”, the complete edition, is in preparation
Same method as our Namibia guide: day-by-day itineraries, driving, a costed budget and checklists. Leave us your address and you'll hear about the launch — at the launch price.
In the meantime, our reference
The “Namibia on your own” guide — €29
- The same method, already applied to Africa's easiest self-drive country
- 3 day-by-day itineraries, 4x4 insurance decoded, costed budget
- Instant download, 14-day guarantee — currently in French, English edition coming
Before you go
Readers' questions about Savuti
Is the Savuti channel flowing?
The local question par excellence: the channel flowed from 2008 through the 2010s after thirty years of drought, then withdrew again. Ask in Maun before setting out — flowing marsh or dry plain, the region changes its face, never its interest.
Can you skip Savuti and still reach Chobe?
Yes, by the outer tar road via Nata (a long detour) or by the river track via Kachikau. But if your crew and vehicle allow it, the inner Moremi–Savuti–Chobe crossing remains THE set piece of the trip.