The Linyanti & Selinda Concessions

Tucked between Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta, the Linyanti and Selinda concessions represent Botswana's best-kept safari secret—private wilderness areas that combine the elephant density of Chobe with the intimacy and exclusivity of the Delta's finest camps.

The Linyanti marshes and the Selinda Spillway—a seasonal channel connecting the Okavango and Linyanti systems—create a corridor of permanent water that acts as a magnet for wildlife during the dry months. Elephant herds of several hundred regularly move through these concessions, wild dog packs den here in winter, and the riverine forest along the Linyanti River shelters some of Botswana's densest leopard populations.

What distinguishes these concessions from public parks is the complete absence of day visitors and the freedom to conduct activities prohibited in national reserves. Night drives with powerful spotlights reveal the bush's nocturnal dimension—aardvark, honey badger, serval, and the mesmerising eyes of lesser bush babies reflected in the beam. Walking safaris with armed guides allow an intimacy with the landscape impossible from a vehicle. And because each concession is leased to a single safari operator, you share tens of thousands of hectares with at most a handful of other guests.

Properties like Zarafa, Selinda, and Duma Tau offer some of the most architecturally ambitious safari accommodation in Africa, with rates and standards comparable to the Delta's premium camps. For travellers seeking a Botswana safari that avoids even the modest traffic of the Delta's more famous camps, the Linyanti corridor is the answer.