Tourist Places to Visit in Ghanzi, Botswana, South Africa, Africa

Tourist Places to Visit in Ghanzi, Botswana, South Africa, Africa

Ghanzi is a tourist favor town in the southern African nation Botswana, situated in the western part of the country. It is the seat of Ghanzi District which shares its western border with Namibia. The town of Ghanzi covers an area of 1,670 square kilometers while the district of Ghanzi sprawls 117,910 square kilometers.

Ghanzi is known for its traditional market with a wide variety of handcrafted itemss and also many natural tourist spots surround the town. Agriculture is the backbone of the Ghanzi’s economy. Lying at an elevation of 1,156 meters, Ghanzi geographically coordinates with 21°42′ S latitude and 21°49′ E longitude.

History of Ghanzi:

Ghanzi is pronounced in different ways like Gantsi, Ghansi, and Ghantsi. The history of Ghanzi begins with it was settled and by Hendrik van Zyl as the first Afrikaner who founded a trading enterprise in Ghanzi in 1870. The Barclays Bank’s branch and Kalahari Arms Hotel are supposed to be the first commercial establishments in Ghanzi.

How to reach Ghanzi?

Ghanzi has an airport but it is currently not served by any scheduled flights. The closest airport to Ghanzi is Maun Airport, located around 280 km northeast of the city of Ghanzi. This airport covers the cities of Cape Town, Gaborone, Johannesburg, Kasane, Victoria Falls and Windhoek, served by Air Botswana, Air Namibia and Airlink.

Ghanzi is connected to the national capital, Gaborone and Maun by national bus services, operated by Seabelo.

Culture, Shopping and Food in Ghanzi:

Ghanzi is culturally a diverse town housing the people of different communities like Bakgalagadi, Baherero and Basarwa. Shekgalagari is the common language spoken by natives and in addition of speaking Shekgalagari, natives also communicate in Sekgalagadi, Seherero and Sesarwa.

The town of Ghanzi is lined up with plenty of traditional shops with colorful handicraft items, and modernized shops are also there.

Modernized restaurants are less in number in Ghanzi but one can find many traditional food huts in the town.

Things to do in Ghanzi:

Hiking
Bird watching
Village tours
Shopping

Tourist Attractions in and around Ghanzi:

Central Kalahari Game Reserve:

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is the main reason for the most people come to Ghanzi. Covering an area of 52,800 km², it is the world’s 2^nd largest game reserve. It is home to a wide range of animals including giraffes, brown hyenas, wild dog, leopard, lion and elands. There are many lodges and vacation rentals around the park and the park can be explored best through a guided tour.

Khutse Game Reserve:

Adjoining the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the Khutse Game Reserve is a National Park holding many campsites even although housing a less number of wild-lives. It is located nearly halfway between Ghanzi and Gaborone.

Moremi Game Reserve:

Located in the eastern part of the Okavango Delta, the Moremi Game Reserve is spread over an area of 5,000 square kilometers having diverse features like acacia forests, mopane woodland and lagoons. The reserve is also famous as a bird watching spot.

Ghanzi Airport:

The Ghanzi Airport is a modernized airport but doesn’t offer any scheduled flights, only operates private and charter flights. The construction of the airport is nice and one can reach it from the town centre by walk or rental vehicle.

List of the other tourist attractions in and around Ghanzi includes:

Okavango River
Okavango Delta
Motsana
General Trading Company
Thamalakane River

When to visit Ghanzi?

Probably from November to March is the best time to visit Ghanzi, especially to explore Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

Where to stay in Ghanzi?

Getting accommodation in Ghanzi would not be a matter for visitors as the town houses around 20 standard accommodation centres of which the most are vacation rentals, located around Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Here are some such hotels in and around Ghanzi: