NEXT STOP
Elephants await in Botswana’s Chobe National Park.
When it comes to seeing African elephants in the wild, few safari destinations can top Chobe National Park, a Qatar-sized wildlife refuge in northeastern Botswana. Some estimates put its resident pachyderm population at 120,000—more than a quarter of the total number of elephants in all of Africa. Massive herds migrate from the park’s wooded heartlands to the floodplains on its fringes with the onset of dry season, starting in May, and it’s during these months that cruises on the Chobe River are a must-do. Elephants may be the star attraction, but you’ll also see plenty of buffalo, giraffe, and antelope, all gathered at the water’s edge to drink and bathe as day turns to night.