Tau Pan

The dramatic desert of legend and home of the San. Tau Pan Camp was the first lodging welcomed to the famous Central Kalahari Game Reserve and an unprecedented opportunity to establish camp in one of the world's largest pristine wildernesses. It occupies unrivalled placement high on a dune ridge, overlooking a waterhole and game-rich plains. The vistas are magnificent — vast skies, tremendous savannah — and the camp design takes every opportunity to exploit this location. The main area includes an open bar, lounge and dining areas all set around the fireplace, which is the ideal spot for spotting game at the waterhole. 'Tau' means lion in Setswana and the pan is so named for its pride of iconic black-maned Kalahari lions, who are frequent visitors to the camp. Discover the land of the lion through ancient San eyes. Also known as the Bushmen in Botswana, indigenous trackers provide life-giving insights on surviving in this harsh paradise during a spellbinding nature walk. When you enter this world as a student, it ensures the conservation of their fast-vanishing San culture. Stargazing is astonishing in this remote location and best experienced with a night below the Milky Way on the sleepout deck.