Things to do in Tsodilo Hills
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Tsodilo Hills
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season, the best walking window: cool mornings, warm days, cold campsite nights and the track at its most reliable.
Hot and dry, the fishing window: barbel run on the river, Tsodilo walking only at first light.
First rains: green country and migrant birds, with a track that can turn difficult after one heavy fall.
Wet season, the hardest access: heavy rain, heat, higher malaria risk and a weather dependent Tsodilo attempt.
Shoulder month: rains tail off, the track firms up and the hills become comfortably walkable again.
What's on
- Barbel Run Late August to early November, exact timing varies by year
Migrating catfish on the Okavango Panhandle draw tiger fish and birds in a seasonal feeding frenzy.
- Botswana Day 30 September
National independence holiday. Allow for changed staffing and services in a late September itinerary.
Best things to do in Tsodilo Hills
Rhino Trail
The classic first guided walk at Tsodilo, past the best known panels including the rhino images that name it.
Cliff Trail
The trail for paintings on high cliff faces, including eland imagery, with wide views over the flat Kalahari.
Lion Trail
The quieter third named trail, best used for a slower second walk once a guide knows what interests you.
Tsodilo Hills Museum
The small site museum at the gate, worth its stop as a briefing before a guided walk, not as a standalone trip.
Rhino Cave
A Female Hill cave with a python like rock, known for a debated 2006 claim of very early ritual use.
Laurens van der Post Panel
The famous panel near the campsite, named for the writer whose 1958 book popularised Tsodilo for readers abroad.
Where to stay in Tsodilo Hills
Tsodilo Hills
first light walks and a second trail day
Camping only, between the hills, with no food, fuel or shop. Everything must be brought in from Shakawe or Maun.
Shakawe, Okavango Panhandle
the practical base for Tsodilo and the river
River lodges south of town, about 45 to 50 km from the Tsodilo gate, with beds, meals, boats and local track advice.
Nxamaseri Island, Okavango Panhandle
splurge river stay with a Tsodilo excursion
A rebuilt island lodge about an hour from the hills, reached by boat, with fishing, birding and the Tsodilo sleep out.
Think twice about
- Maun as a Tsodilo day base
Roughly 350 km and a sand track stand between Maun and the hills. Maun works as a mobile safari start, not a day base.
- The access track and the Gcwihaba tracks at night or after heavy rain
Sand, corrugation and flooded sections, with no fuel, no signal in places and slow recovery. Ask in Shakawe that morning.
- Any direct cross country route between Tsodilo and Gcwihaba
No such visitor track was found in sources. Travellers return to the main highway and drive south, over hours.
Best restaurants in Tsodilo Hills
Drotsky's Cabins Restaurant
Three meals a day on a raised river deck, the most traveller tested table in the Shakawe lodge corridor.
Shakawe River Lodge Restaurant
River facing lodge dining that makes a Shakawe River Lodge stay self contained for a long Tsodilo day.
Xaro Restaurant
The named on site restaurant at Xaro Lodge, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily overlooking the garden.
Nxamaseri Island Lodge Restaurant
Full board island dining in the central area, part of the lodge rate and the only table on the island.
Outdoor things to do in Tsodilo Hills
Male Hill
The highest of the four hills at about 1,400 metres, climbed early with a guide for scale and horizon views.
Okavango River
Deep permanent river water at Shakawe for lodge boat trips, serious birding and tiger fish and bream fishing.
Kubu Queen Houseboat
A small double decker houseboat working about 150 km of river from Shakawe, built around fishing and slow days.
Gcwihaba Caves
A National Monument cave system far south, reachable only as its own expedition day via the main road.
Best hotels in Tsodilo Hills
Tsodilo Hills Campsite
The managed campsite between the largest hills, the only sleeping option at the site and fully self sufficient.
Drotsky's Cabins
Long established river lodge and campsite south of Shakawe, the classic independent base for a Tsodilo day.
Shakawe River Lodge
River suites south of Shakawe with dining and deck facing the main Okavango River and Tsodilo day trips.
Xaro Lodge
The polished Shakawe river lodge, with its own restaurant, pool and boat activities, about 49 km from Tsodilo.
Nxamaseri Island Lodge
Rebuilt island splurge lodge about an hour from Tsodilo, with the sleep out offer for stays of three nights or more.
Is Tsodilo Hills expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | BWP 900 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | BWP 2,400 a person |
| Splurge | BWP 6,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Kubu Queen Houseboat: weeks ahead
- Gcwihaba Caves: weeks ahead
- Drotsky's Cabins: a few days ahead
- Shakawe River Lodge: a few days ahead
- Xaro Lodge: weeks ahead
- Nxamaseri Island Lodge: weeks ahead
- Book Shakawe and Nxamaseri rooms and any Maun mobile safari weeks ahead in the May to October dry season.
- Confirm who runs the Tsodilo campsite, its fee and its working water and ablutions before relying on it.
- Ask your lodge the night before a Tsodilo day for an early or packed breakfast and a packed lunch.
Is Tsodilo Hills safe?
- Petty and violent crime occur in Botswana. Much of the country is remote, and medical resources in remote regions are limited.
- Heat and water are the daily risks. Carry at least two litres per person for a trail morning and start early.
- Serious medical care means Maun or evacuation, and evacuation from remote Botswana can be delayed, especially at night.
- The Panhandle is a malaria area. Take prophylaxis advice and use repellent and nets or screened rooms at the river.
- Do not drive the sand track at night or after heavy rain without local advice that morning in Shakawe.
Tsodilo Hills travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Popular lost city and lost civilisation claims attached to Tsodilo are not in the UNESCO record. Treat them as fringe writing.
- Never touch, wet or chalk a painting to improve a photograph. Skin oil, water and abrasion damage panels.
- A two wheel drive hire car that managed the first firm kilometres has not managed the access track. Turn back is a plan.
Getting around Tsodilo Hills: public transport and more
- Walk the hills on foot with a community guide arranged at the gate or museum. Do not plan an unguided painting walk.
- Drive the roughly 40 km access track from the A35 only in a proper 4x4, in daylight, with a full tank from Shakawe.
- From Maun allow a full travel day, roughly 380 km by road to Shakawe, or cut it with a charter to Shakawe airstrip.
- There is no fuel, shop or restaurant at the site. Carry all food, water and fuel in from Shakawe or Maun.
Who Tsodilo Hills suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Tsodilo Hills your trip
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