Things to do in Gaborone

Nature · South-west of the city

The rocky hill overlooking Gaborone, with a well-used trail to the top and baboons on the way.

Local tip: Go early — it is exposed and hot by mid-morning. The summit gives you the whole city, the dam and, on a clear day, the South African border country. Do not leave anything in the car at the trailhead.

Nature · South of the city

The reservoir that supplies the capital, with sailing, birdlife and a shoreline that tells you how the rains have been.

Local tip: The water level is the city's most visible barometer — it has come close to empty in drought years and the North-South Carrier pipeline was built because of it. The sailing club is the main point of public access.

Nature · 15 km south, on the Lobatse road

A private reserve with white rhino, giraffe, and guided walks, twenty minutes from the office.

Local tip: The rhino tracking on foot is genuinely good and much cheaper than an equivalent experience further north. It is also the standard first outing for anyone visiting you from abroad.

Landmark · Central Business District

Bronze statues of the three chiefs who travelled to London in 1895 to keep Bechuanaland out of Rhodesian hands.

Local tip: Ten minutes and free, and it explains more about why Botswana turned out differently from its neighbours than any museum. Khama III, Sebele I and Bathoen I went to petition Queen Victoria directly — and it worked.

Neighborhood · Central Gaborone

The original pedestrian spine of the planned city, with government buildings at one end and traders' stalls down the middle.

Local tip: This is where the city actually meets. Come for the craft and fabric stalls at lunchtime and for the best street food; the shiny malls out at Kgale and Airport Junction have the shops but none of the life.

Culture · About 50 km south-west, near Ranaka

San rock paintings in red ochre on a granite outcrop, in a village setting with almost no infrastructure around them.

Local tip: There is no ticket office and no crowd — you ask in the village and someone will walk you up. An hour's drive from Gaborone and one of the oldest human artworks you will ever stand in front of, entirely unmediated.