Maun is the gateway to the one of the best wildlife experiences you will ever have - a safari in the unforgettable Okavango Delta.
Maun has grown rapidly from its early days as a small, rural frontier town and has now spread along the wide, usually dry Thamalakane River. It now boasts good shopping centres, hotels and lodges as well as car and 4-wheel drive vehicle hire.

However, it retains a rural atmosphere and, as befitting its role as the hub of the Delta's safari industry, a raw edge. Grizzled hunters and khaki-clad guides amble from supply stores, big 4X4 trucks grind their way into the bush and the local tribesmen still bring their cattle here to sell. You might see antelopes grazing the quieter river banks and you will certainly dodge donkeys and goats on the main road.

Although there is plenty of accommodation in Maun, most travellers pass through without staying overnight. Countless safari and air-charter operations have offices here, so the town is busy with people coming and going, especially around the airport.
MaunAlmost all tourists entering the Okavango do so through Maun, situated at the gateway to the Delta and Moremi Game Reserve. Maun is the tourism capital of Botswana and the administrative centre of Ngamiland. It is also the headquarters of countless safari and air-charter operations whose signs and offices dot almost every intersection, particularly towards the airport.

Since the town's establishment in 1915 as the tribal capital of the Batawana people, Maun has had a rough and ready reputation as a hard-living 'Wild West' town servicing the local cattle ranching and hunting operations. But with the growth of the tourism industry and the completion of the tar road from Nata in the early 1990s, Maun has developed rapidly, losing much of its old frontier town character. It is now home to over 30,000 people.
Regular supplies of almost everything can be bought in Maun, and the town boasts several good shopping centres, filling stations, a choice of hotels and lodges as well as car and four-wheel-drive vehicle hire.