Best Things to Do in Gaborone

Gaborone's appeal lies in how effortlessly you can move from post-independence monuments and contemporary Setswana art studios to granite hill trails and acacia bushveld stocked with antelope and white rhino. Pair an early outdoor excursion with a slower cultural or food stop after lunch.

1. Stand before the Three Dikgosi Monument in the CBD. Admire the three 5.4-metre bronze statues of Chiefs Khama III, Sebele I and Bathoen I, who travelled to London in 1895 to keep Bechuanaland out of Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company.
2. Scramble up Kgale Hill (The Sleeping Giant) at sunrise. Follow one of the marked boulder trails to the 1,287-metre summit ridge on the southern edge of town for sweeping views over Gaborone Dam, the CBD skyline and the Kalahari thornveld, sharing the rocks with chacma baboons and klipspringers.
3. Spot impala, kudu, zebra and ostrich in Gaborone Game Reserve. Drive a compact network of dirt loops and bird hides tucked right inside the city near Broadhurst and Limpopo Drive, watching plains game and wetland kingfishers minutes from central hotels.
4. Track white rhino at Mokolodi Nature Reserve. Drive fifteen kilometres south of town into 3,700 hectares of hilly bushveld to join a guided walk or game drive among white rhino, giraffe, zebra, hippo and warthog.
5. Stroll the pedestrianised Main Mall and Government Enclave. Walk the shaded brick promenade built for independence in the 1960s, browsing basketry stalls, bookshops and outdoor cafes between the National Assembly and Civic Centre.
6. Visit Thapong Visual Arts Centre and the National Botanical Garden. In the Old Village across the Notwane River bridge, view contemporary Botswana painting and sculpture beside the 1902 Old Magistrate's house, then wander through indigenous aloe and acacia collections next door.
7. Inspect heritage displays at the National Museum and Art Gallery. Explore open-air traditional homestead models, early transport relics and temporary exhibitions off Independence Avenue.
8. Drive out to Lentswe la Baratani and Oodi Weavers. Head twenty kilometres north-east to see wool spun and woven by hand into storytelling tapestries of village life.
9. Taste slow-pounded seswaa and village chicken. Order Botswana's celebratory beef dish with sorghum bogobe and wild greens at a traditional kitchen.
10. Sunset by Gaborone Dam or Sanitas Tea Garden. Finish the day watching sailboards and waterbirds on the reservoir or sitting under giant nursery trees over tea and cake.