Planet Baobab, Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Botswana

Planet Baobab is in the region of Botswana’s mysterious Makgadikgadi Pans, which was once the largest expanse of fresh water on the planet. Today, it’s a vast, salt-pan desert of shimmering sand and surreal landscapes so vast you can see the curvature of the earth. It’s a harsh and sparse landscape, but one that’s beautiful in its desolation. Here, perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, you’ll be struck by a feeling of utter, marvellous, isolation.

The rooms are quirky, cool and super comfy. Scattered beneath a fraternity of colossal baobabs, the 18 thatched huts (eight Bakalanga, seven Baobab and three Bakalanga Family) take more than a little inspiration from the local Botswana villages, and all are arranged in friendly clusters. Vibrant murals adorn the outside walls and inside, you’ll find sunny patchwork quilts and a variety of eclectic trinkets that won’t fail to make you smile. Twin huts have two beds on either side of the room, family huts have a large double bed in the centre with twin beds on either side, and all have ensuite bathrooms. If you’re taking things a little easier on the pocket there’s also a selection of camping spaces with shared bathroom facilities, and a shady campsite with the best ablutions in Botswana, fact!

WHY CHOOSE PLANET BAOBAB?

• Experience the vast remoteness of the Makgadikgadi Pans and Kalahari Desert, a place of endless horizons and four-thousand-year-old inverted trees.
• The camp itself has been voted as one of the top 10 most extraordinary places to stay in the world by Lonely Planet – and quite rightly so!
• Enjoy a variety of awesome activities, from baobab bushwalks, to quad bike expeditions and game drives in the spectacular Nxai Pan.
• Shake off the heat of the day and the dust of the desert in the largest, coolest swimming pool in the Kalahari.
• Spend some time with the local Batswana people and learn a little about the way of life in this extraordinary part of the world.