The first camp ever built inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, perched on an ancient dune above the pan that gave it its name — Setswana for lion.
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Overview
The First Camp in the Kalahari
Tau Pan holds the distinction of being the first and only permanent safari camp inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve — at 52,800 square kilometres, the largest game reserve in Africa.
Built on the ridge of an ancient sand dune, the camp's elevated position is a rarity in a country as flat as Botswana, giving sweeping views over the pan and waterhole below. This is the ancestral home of the nomadic San Bushmen, whose trackers guide guests through Deception Valley and the surrounding fossil river valleys on foot. The name Tau — Setswana for lion — comes from the resident pride of black-maned Kalahari lions known to wander right through camp, with a particular fondness for the family tent.
Owned by the Kwando community. Tau Pan is operated by Kwando Safaris, whose camps across Botswana are fully owned by local communities and staffed almost entirely by Botswana citizens.
9
Eco Tents, incl. Family
52,800km²
Central Kalahari Reserve
100%
Solar Powered
1
First Camp in the CKGR
Tents
On the Ridge, Above the Pan
Nine eco-adapted en-suite tents sit on raised decks along the dune ridge, each with sweeping views over the plains of the Central Kalahari.
Desert Tent — Dune Ridge Deck
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Indoor & Outdoor ShowersEach tent pairs an indoor and outdoor shower with a double-basin vanity, open wardrobe, king-size bed, living area and writing desk.
02
The Family TentOne dedicated family tent sits alongside the eight standard tents, occasionally visited by the camp's resident pride of lions.
03
The Sky BedA wooden sleep-out platform on the camp's eastern edge, with a double bed, basin and toilet, for a night beneath one of Africa's clearest skies.
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Fully Solar PoweredSolar energy generates all of Tau Pan's electricity, heats and pumps its water, with a state-of-the-art treatment plant returning waste water safely to the sand.
Experiences
Deception Valley & the San Trackers
Tau Pan's activities move at the pace of the Kalahari itself — game drives, bush walks with San trackers, and some of the clearest stargazing on the continent.
Day & Night
Game Drives
Drives across the reserve's fossil river valleys, tracking black-maned lions, desert-adapted oryx and the rare brown hyena.
Legendary Ground
Deception Valley
Day trips to Deception Valley, Sunday, Piper and Passarge Pans, ancient fossilised river valleys with a fittingly mysterious name.
On Foot
San Bushman Walks
Guided nature walks with San trackers, reading the Kalahari's sands for the stories written by its wildlife.
After Dark
Star-Gazing
With almost no light pollution for hundreds of kilometres, the Kalahari night sky is considered among the clearest anywhere on Earth.
Overnight
The Sky Bed Sleep-Out
A night spent on the elevated Sky Bed platform, falling asleep under an uninterrupted view of the Milky Way.
Wildlife
Desert-Adapted Species
Sightings here include gemsbok, springbok, bat-eared fox, honey badger and the rare brown hyena — species built for this specific desert.
Dining
A Crescent Moon, Under Thatch
The camp's main area is shaped like a crescent moon, open on one side for 180-degree views of the pan by day and the Milky Way by night.
01A communal dining table beneath the crescent-shaped thatch
02A help-yourself bar with tea, coffee and cold drinks
03Fireside seating overlooking the waterhole
04Bush brunches on full-day excursions into Deception Valley
The Fireplace — Waterhole View
Location
Africa's Largest Game Reserve
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve spans 52,800 square kilometres of semi-arid grassland and fossil river valleys, the ancestral home of Botswana's San Bushmen.
At 52,800 square kilometres, the largest game reserve in Africa and one of the largest protected areas on Earth.
Four fossilised rivers cross the reserve, including Deception Valley, formed roughly 16,000 years ago.
Tau Pan Camp has no Wi-Fi or mobile connectivity, keeping the Kalahari's isolation genuinely intact.
A 2006 Botswana court ruling affirmed the San Bushmen's right to return to their traditional lands within the reserve.
Fly
Light aircraft charters connect Maun to Tau Pan's private airstrip, roughly an hour's flight.
Transfer
A short game-drive transfer from the airstrip brings guests up onto the dune ridge and into camp.
Combine
Tau Pan pairs naturally with Kwando's sister camp, Nxai Pan, for a wider desert circuit.
Community Owned
A Kwando Community Camp
Every stay at Tau Pan supports a fully community-owned safari model, staffed almost entirely by citizens of Botswana.