Culture
Knowledge carried across countless generations, shared on a morning walk: which roots hold water, how a track ages in the sand, how fire comes from two sticks.
The San are widely described as the first peoples of southern Africa, and a walk with San guides in the Kalahari can be one of the most rewarding parts of a Botswana safari, provided it is done well. Every name has a history. Basarwa is the Setswana term used in Botswana; San, originally a Khoekhoe word, is the name most used internationally; “Bushmen” is a colonial-era name that many find offensive, although some communities have reclaimed it. The San are not one people but many communities with their own languages, such as the Naro around Ghanzi and the G/wi and G//ana of the central Kalahari, so ask your guides how they prefer to be described.
On a typical walk, guides demonstrate how to read tracks, find edible and medicinal plants, dig up water-storing roots, set a traditional snare and make fire by spinning a stick. It is heritage knowledge shared on the guides’ own terms, not a portrait of daily life: San families today live in villages and towns, work, farm and study like anyone else. The best experiences are community-led, pay guides properly and welcome questions, which is why we choose them carefully.
San Cultural Walks in the Kalahari
We recommend camps whose walks are led by San guides employed on fair terms, and we ask how each program works before including it.
You set out on foot in the cool of the morning, usually in a small group with San guides and often a camp guide who interprets.
Along the way, your guides demonstrate tracking, plant foods and medicines, snares and fire-making, and explain the knowledge behind each.
There is time for questions, which good guides welcome, about traditional skills and about life in the Kalahari today.
Photography is usually fine during demonstrations, but always ask first and follow your guides’ lead on what is appropriate.
San Cultural Walks in the Kalahari
Where to go
Salt pans, grassland and the Boteti River: green-season zebra, habituated meerkats, sleep-outs under the stars and Baines’ Baobabs.
ExploreA vast, remote Kalahari reserve that turns green after good rains, bringing springbok and gemsbok herds, dark-maned lions and deep solitude.
ExploreSafaris
Maun · Makgadikgadi Pans · Nxai Pan · Central Kalahari · Okavango Delta
Return visitors, photographers and the Kalahari-curious, happy to trade some certainty for solitude
Kasane · Chobe Riverfront · Okavango Delta · Makgadikgadi Pans · Maun
Families with children roughly 12 and older who want variety, activity and a little adrenaline
Good to know
The term carries a painful colonial history, and many people prefer San, Basarwa or the name of their own community. Some San do use “Bushmen” themselves, so follow your guides’ lead and use the name they prefer.
Look for walks led by San guides who are employed and paid fairly, with the community involved in how the program runs. Be wary of staged villages or anything that presents people as a spectacle, and ask the camp how fees are shared.
Yes, as a remote extension. The hills lie in the far north-west near the Okavango Panhandle and are reached by light aircraft or a long drive, so they suit travelers with a strong interest in rock art and a night or two to spare.
Generally, yes. The pace is slow, the demonstrations are hands-on, and children often love the tracking and fire-making. Check the walk’s length and the likely heat for your travel dates.
Experiences
On the water
Glide through the Okavango’s papyrus channels in a poled canoe, low enough to meet reed frogs and lily-trotters at eye level.
On the water
Watch elephant herds drink, swim and cross the Chobe River from a boat, the riverfront’s signature way to see its wildlife.
In the air
See the Okavango’s channels, islands and wading herds from the air, on a doors-off helicopter flight or a fixed-wing scenic flight from Maun.
Share when you can travel, who is coming and what you most hope to see in Botswana. A specialist will shape a private route around it and walk you through every choice before anything is booked.
Plan My Botswana Safari