Timing your trip
best time to visit central kalahari
The Central Kalahari reverses Botswana’s usual rhythm. Its game gathers when the summer rains green the fossil valleys, not in the dry winter months. For the wider Kalahari, the Makgadikgadi Pans keep a different calendar and have a guide of their own.
seasonal guide to central kalahari
Unusually, the green season from December to March is prime, when rain flushes the grasses and draws springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest and zebra onto the pans with black-maned lion and cheetah following. The December calving puts young in front of the predators. The dry winter is cold and quiet with game dispersed, and September and October turn hot and parched.
month by month details
January is the wettest month and the heart of the Kalahari's green season. Afternoon storms are usually short, and the fossil valleys of Deception, Sunday and Piper hold large herds of springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest and zebra on fresh grass.
This sits in the core springbok calving period, so young animals are plentiful and predators concentrate to exploit them. Black-maned lions and cheetah work the short green grass of the riverbeds, where prey is unusually easy to find and watch. Days are hot, around 36 degrees, and some tracks turn muddy, but the wildlife rewards it.
February holds the green season at full strength, often rated the single best month for Central Kalahari game. Water and grazing are abundant and mixed herds of springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest and zebra gather on the pans.
Calving continues, keeping prey numbers high, and the open short grass of Deception Valley and the other fossil riverbeds gives strong odds on black-maned lions and cheetah hunting in daylight. Expect heat near 36 degrees and occasional storms, with some muddy tracks, but the concentrations and predator action are at their best.
March keeps the green-season game viewing while the rains begin to ease. The valleys stay green, wildflowers often carpet the plains, and herds remain focused on the lush pans and riverbeds.
Predators continue to exploit the high prey densities and the young animals from the calving season. Temperatures soften a little from the January and February peak, around 35 degrees by day, and although mud is still possible, road conditions usually improve through the month. A prime month, only marginally less intense than February.
April stays green and productive even as the rains taper off and the peak passes. The pans in the valleys remain important water sources, so game holds up reasonably well while other areas begin to dry.
Grazing is still good, keeping predator viewing worthwhile, though herds start to spread out and the dense concentrations of the wet peak begin to loosen. Days are more comfortable at around 32 degrees, nights cooler, and roads firm up. It is rarely busy, making this a balanced shoulder choice of decent wildlife and easier conditions.
May marks the turn from green to dry, with game still reasonably concentrated, particularly around Piper Pans. Vegetation thins and surface water recedes, so the largest herds begin to break up and disperse.
Fine viewing remains around the fossil riverbeds and remaining green pockets, and predators are still good value, though more effort is needed than in the wet peak. Days are pleasant near 29 degrees and nights turn cold, often into single figures. A well-balanced shoulder month with easy logistics and decent wildlife.
June brings the cold dry winter, and the green-season concentrations give way to dispersed game. The valley grasses have cured and animals scatter across the bush, so sightings become more scattered rather than herd-rich.
Predators remain active and patient tracking can still produce excellent encounters, but this is not the spectacle of the rains. Days are mild around 26 degrees, nights drop close to freezing, skies are clear and roads firm. Good for remoteness, comfort and night skies; weaker for big numbers.
July is the dry winter at its coldest, with mild days and frosty nights near or below freezing. Game stays dispersed, drawn to scattered water at Letiahau, Passarge, Sunday Pan and the old riverbeds rather than gathering in the open valleys.
Thinner vegetation and animals focusing on limited water can make predators rewarding for those willing to search, so the month suits experienced, patient travellers more than first-timers seeking density. Conditions are comfortable and clear, with excellent visibility and easy travel, but the wildlife is far quieter than the green season.
August is bone dry with very cold nights and the peak of the dry season. Vegetation is minimal and game remains widely dispersed, though the sparse cover makes animals easier to pick out when they are near water or out on the pans.
Predator opportunities continue around the limited water sources for those prepared to look, with the same pattern as July. Days warm gradually towards month's end, visibility is excellent and travel is straightforward, but this is still a long way from the lush, herd-rich scenes of the rains.
September turns hot and very dry as the pre-rain stress period sets in. Animals concentrate on the few remaining water sources, but overall densities across the reserve are low and well short of the green-season gatherings.
Predators exploit weakened prey at scarce water, yet finding them takes time, and the building heat restricts comfortable viewing to early morning and late afternoon. For travellers whose priority is density and variety this is a weak month, suited mainly to those who accept the heat in exchange for solitude and stark desert country.
October is the hottest and driest month, with the land parched and the wildlife at its most dispersed. Some game gathers at remaining waterholes, but the spectacle is limited compared with the rainy-season valleys.
Predators are active around scarce water, though daytime heat near 34 degrees pushes viewing to the cool edges of the day. This is the least rewarding month for game density and variety, appealing mainly to committed desert travellers who tolerate the heat. Many planners would rather wait for the first rains than visit now.
November is the build-up to the green season, with the first storms breaking the heat. Rain is unpredictable this early, but the dust settles, migratory birds arrive and animals begin drifting back towards the fossil valleys in anticipation of fresh grass.
The big concentrations are not yet established and sightings can still be inconsistent, so this is a transition rather than a peak. The birthing season starts to bring young animals into view. Better than the late dry months and improving by the day, but the real action waits for the rains to set in properly.
December opens the green season as the rains take hold and the Kalahari greens. Wildebeest, zebra, springbok and gemsbok start concentrating on the flushing valleys and pans, and densities climb noticeably through the month.
Springbok calving gets under way, drawing black-maned lions, cheetah and other predators to the edges of Deception, Sunday and Passarge. Days are hot around 35 degrees and tracks can turn muddy as the rains develop, but once the storms are established the predator and prey interactions and the green plains make this a strong month.
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frequently asked questions
December to April, which is the opposite of the rest of Botswana.
The summer rain brings grass to the fossil valleys, and the springbok, gemsbok and wildebeest arrive in numbers with the predators behind them. Deception Valley in February is one of the great sights in southern Africa.
The country is green, the skies are dramatic and the birding is at its peak.
This is the one place we would book in the green season by preference rather than by compromise.
Because there is no permanent water, so the game follows the grass rather than a river.
In the dry months the herds disperse across an enormous reserve and the game viewing becomes thin and hard work. When the rain comes the fossil valleys green up and everything concentrates on them.
It is the reverse of the delta and the Linyanti, where the dry season concentrates everything.
So a Botswana trip that includes the Kalahari has to choose which half to favour, and we will say which.
For the silence and the landscape, yes. For the wildlife, it is thin.
From about May to October the valleys are bare, the game spreads out and long drives can turn up very little. What you get instead is emptiness, clear nights and very few people.
September and October are also punishingly hot with no water anywhere.
If your dates fall then, we would put the nights into the delta and add the Kalahari another time.
Both extremes, and neither is mild.
October is brutal, regularly into the forties with no shade and no water. Winter nights in June and July drop below freezing on open sand, which catches people out completely.
The green season is hot by day with storms to break it.
Pack layers, a proper warm jacket for winter nights, and serious sun protection in any month.
The green season, from December to April, because the prey is concentrated.
Black-maned Kalahari lion follow the herds into the valleys, and cheetah hunt the open pans where the springbok gather. Brown hyena are around the camps year round.
In the dry months the predators are still here and far harder to find.
If the cats are the point, book the rains and be ready for a storm or two.
As the green-season half of a trip, and the flights make it simple.
From December to April the Kalahari is at its best while the delta is quieter and cheaper, so a route that takes both gives you a strong second half rather than a weak one.
In the dry months we would drop it and spend the nights in the north.
Tell us your dates and we will build the route around whichever half of the country is having the better season.
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Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
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