Gaborone

Abyssinia Ethiopian Cafe

Botswana's only Ethiopian restaurant. On Fridays through Sundays this cafe serves pretty good injera with all the trimmings for P80. Also does great coffee and is cleaner and quieter than Equatorial Coffee around the corner. Closed evenings Sunday-Thursday.

Beef Baron

Perhaps Gaborone's most expensive restaurant. Serves excellent and huge meat dishes, including some game, but beef is in the ascendancy. Desserts are good also (including the lovely malva pudding). Atmosphere is pretty nice for a hotel restaurant, although there are no windows.

Lunch and dinner·Mains from P120

Botswana Craft

Curiously located in the middle of an industrial estate, Botswana Craft is a little oasis comprising a handful of little cafes and art shops. It's a little too Arikaaner flavoured for some, but an interesting place to browse if you are passing. If you want to buy a Buddhist statue or some scented candles this is the place to go.

Bull & Bush

Bar & restaurant serves up a range of meat-centred dishes; does a pretty good job.

Bull and Bush

English pub in north part of [Gaborone]. A common ex-pat hangout big-screen TV and pool tables. Friday night is usually for the younger kids, Saturday night for the adults. The food is excellent, especially the pizza and ribs. The last Wednesday of the month is quiz night (or quizzo) where teams compete on trivia for prizes. Monday night is Rib night and well worth a visit!

Cafe Dijo

Free wireless, great coffee, delicious and healthy food. A great place for catching up on e-mail or chatting with friends on a lazy Saturday morning. Frequented by expats. Inside Game City.

Caravela

One of the few suburban house restaurants in the city. Nominally Portuguese menu including a good selection of seafood, and Mozambican beer. The outdoor patio area has a very nice ambiance. Open for dinner 7 nights a week. Food is a little hit and miss, and the prices are in expat territory, but worth giving a try.

Chutney's

Excellent Indian food including southern dishes such as dosas. Not much for ambiance but great food.

Deli's

One of the best lunch places in down. Real Italian food. Imported products. Amazing pastas and pizzas. Beef lasagne especially, at P55 for huge portion.

Embassy

Excellent Indian food located in the Riverwalk Mall. Note: food can take up to one hour, especially if with large group. Mains around P60.

Funyama Holdings Chinese Restaurant

Authentic and good value Chinese with an extensive menu, including such delights as Crispy Pork Intestines with Hot Dry Chili. Also covers more standard 'beef in black bean sauce' type dishes. The Devil Soup at P10 and the noodle dishes at P30 are particularly good value.

Gaborone Dam

The Gaborone Dam is the only large body of water near Gaborone, the source of water for the city and a recreational area. There are yacht and fishing clubs based here, as well as playgrounds and parks. It's a great place for activities such as birdwatching, windsurfing or angling, but unsuitable for swimming due to the risk of bilharzia and crocodiles.

Gaborone Game Reserve

One of the smaller game reserves, if you have a car you can just drive yourself around. Mostly birds, but some monkeys, wart hog, ostrich, zebras, wild boars, and kudus. It has picnic spots, but be careful of monkeys and ostriches.

Gaborone Yacht Club

Hidden away down a dusty track to the side of Gaborone dam the Yacht Club bar makes a great sun-downer location. Opening hours are limited, simple food available (e.g., steak-burger & chips P45).

Evenings Wed & Fridays, lunch Saturdays & Sundays·P10 entrance

Game Store

Game store in the Game City Mall is the largest super store in Botswana and has got variety of low-cost, medium quality items.

Kgale Hill

Do not forget to make the pleasant climb up Kgale Hill, one of Botswana's highest hills (at 1,287 m elevation). It provides a magnificent view over the city and surrounding areas. Be careful of the baboons, though, and do not stray off the path. There are no guides, and there is no entrance fee to worry about. Do go - but only when there are other cars in the parking lot. The best time is M-F 4PM - 6PM. The middle of a weekend day is not a good time. Going up without other cars in the lot near the quarry risks being robbed by knife.

Mokolodi

The highlight of many people's time is a cheetah visit where you can actually pet a cheetah. On a two-hour game drive you might see baboons, giraffe, wart hogs, zebra, elephant, hippo, etc. The guides are always very nice.

Mugg & Bean

South African chain coffee and lunch place. Located upstairs in Game City Mall, makes for a noisy indoor shopping mall vibe with adequate coffee.

National Botanical Garden

Operated by the National Museum, here you can see indigenous plants from all six ecological regions in Botswana.

News Café

Close to the Mondior Summit, News Café is popular even with outside guests. The menu centres on "European style" dishes, but with some interesting twists. The place really shines in the cocktail department. On Friday and Saturday nights, the music is often cranked up loud even though there is no dance floor, so sit outside if you want to make conversation. Staff are young and sometimes inexperienced, but most of the time the service is quite good. Prices are somewhat above the regular fare in Gaborone, but then so is the quality. They have Happy Hour from 17:00-18:00. Buy 1 get 1 free on all cocktails.

Closed · opens 6:30 am tomorrow

Notwane Club

Used mainly to host private or special DJ events such as The Thursdays Hip Hop Night.The event is a great chance to have a taste of local music and drinks on special prices.

Oodi Weavers

Established in 1972 by Swedish apartheid refugee Peder Gowenius this small enterprise produces pleasing tapestries of village scenes and the like (P1,000 for a good-sized piece). Any visitor will be encouraged to see the workshop and chat with the weavers.

Mon-Fri 10:00 - 16:30 (closed weekends)

Otse Village

Otse village commonly known as "Letsekela" by its inhabitants of Balete origin is surrounded by hills with Manyelanong on the East and Baratani hill on the West. Manyelanong is one of the only two sites that one has the opportunity to see Cape vultures. Because of its height, difficulty to navigate and cliffs, it provides a perfect breeding ground for vultures. Hence the Mannyelanong Game reserve, established solely for the purpose of protecting these endangered vultures. Baratani hill is popularly known for it's one of the most outstanding stories of young lovers who were in a forbidden relationship. They decided to elope and hid in a nearby hill but never came back. Residents ever since then have never climbed this hill for fear of not returning. The village has many stories about its people, one outstanding story is of the brave woman "Bosetlha" who killed a 3-m python which had wrapped itself around her body. Though she is now old but still active, Nkuku Bosetlha confirms she got attacked by the snake on her way coming from the lands, the snake wrapped itself around her body. After unsuccessful shouts for help, she desperately fought for her life by tightly opening the python's mouth wider for approximately 30 minutes until good samaritans passed by and cut the snake head with a knife.

30 minutes' drive from Gaborone

Par 5 Indian Restaurant

Unfussy south Asian cuisine serving a range of meat and veg dishes, including several daals. Nice setting overlooking the golf course, with indoor and outdoor seating. Closed Mondays. Mains P40-60.

Pavilion Restaurant

Upmarket restaurant which serves buffet lunch, à la carte lunch and dinner. It seats 96 people inside and has a terrace which seats 120 people. One can also relax in the Pavilion Bar for snacks and beverages.

Daily 07:00-22:30, including holidays·From P100

Pie Time

Pies are flaky dough filled with meat or vegetables (called Patties in some other parts of the world). Costs about P5.50 for a pie, P6.75 for a drink. Wide variety of fillings.

Sanitas

A hidden gem. It's a garden centre that has a large cafe for breakfast, lunch or brunch. Has a children's playground also.

Tue-Sun

The Bike Shop

Great little bike shop selling refurbished cycles shipped from the US, together with fancy new mountain bikes and accessories. Considerably more professional than nearby Gaborone Garage and Cycles.

The Hindu hall

BAPS Swaminarayan Hindu Mission

A large Hindu temple and a major landmark. Major Hindu festivals are celebrated here.

The Moghul

Set under a thatched roof at the back of the Oasis Motel this place serves up flavoursome Indian & Pakistani cooking. However, perhaps because of its hotel location, prices are a little steep and portion sizes disappointing. Takeaway and delivery possible.

P50 for a veg curry up to P80 for a Rogan Josh