Things to do in Gaborone
6 activities, venues and outings in Gaborone, from theatres and live music to parks and tours.
Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.
Things to do in Gaborone
- Do
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.
- Do
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.
- Do
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.
- Do
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.
- Do
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
- Do Not mapped
Gaborone Cycling Club
Actually a mountain biking rather than cycling club.
Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Gaborone (CC BY-SA 4.0).