Gumare

Gumare, also spelt Gomare, sits on the A35 on the dry western edge of the Okavango Delta. It is the headquarters of the Okavango sub-district, so it has the government offices, and it has fuel, which Nokaneng to the south does not. The 2022 census counted 11,572 people, up from 8,532 in 2011. Nobody comes here for a holiday. You stop to fill the tank on the way to Guma Lagoon, the Etsha villages or the Panhandle further north.

Getting there

From Maun you take the A3 to Sehithwa and turn north on the A35. Gumare is 146 km up that road, through Tsau and Nokaneng, and the tar is potholed for much of the way, some holes half the width of the road. Nokaneng, 37 km before Gumare, has no fuel.

North of the village it gets worse. The Gumare to Sepopa section was being rebuilt in 2026 one half at a time, with traffic pushed onto gravel bypasses, and the minister admitted that some sections become impassable in the rains. A Tracks4Africa crew who drove the 46 km to Etsha 13 in August 2025 called it the worst road of their trip and said to keep to 60 km/h or less. Stray animals and elephants are on this road, so do it in daylight.

The Maun to Shakawe buses run along the A35 several times a day. There is an airstrip 3 km north of the village.

When to go

The dry winter months are the easy ones. The road sections that close do so in the rains, and malaria risk is at its lowest from June to September.

What to do

Not much in Gumare itself. The A35 gives you no view of the water.

The baskets are what this stretch of road is known for. In 1975 a United Nations project helped weavers in Gumare and Etsha turn their palm baskets into something that sold overseas, and the Etsha villages north of here are still known for them. Those thirteen villages, numbered Etsha 1 to Etsha 13, were settled by refugees from the war in Angola in 1969. The sub-district’s people include Batawana, Bayei, Hambukushu and Herero.

Guma Lagoon is the nearest place to get onto the water. The turn-off is at Etsha 13, 46 km north of Gumare, and the camp there runs boat and mokoro trips.

Good to know

Treat Gumare as your last fuel if you are heading to Guma Lagoon. The track from Etsha 13 to the lagoon is thick sand and the camp says 4x4 only: let your tyres down, use low range, and follow the camp’s signs, not your GPS, because the mapped track is sometimes under water. Without a 4x4, arrange a transfer from Etsha 13 before you arrive.

This is a malaria area. UK guidance rates the northern half of Botswana high risk from October to May, and the US CDC recommends tablets for the Okavango district, so see a travel clinic before you go.

Last updated 12 October 2026. Sources: Statistics Botswana, 2022 Population and Housing Census, population of cities, towns, villages and associated localities (Gumare), Botswana Daily News (government press agency), A35 Gumare to Sepopa rebuilt in half widths, February 2026, Botswana Daily News (government press agency), A35 Sehithwa to Shakawe road condition, accidents and stray animals, March 2025, UK Health Security Agency, malaria prevention guidelines 2026 (Botswana), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botswana traveller health (malaria areas, Okavango), Wikipedia, Gumare (Gomare spelling, 2011 census, sub-district headquarters, peoples, 1975 basket project), Wikipedia, Gumare Airport (airstrip north of the village), Wikipedia, A35 road (route and length), Wikipedia, Etsha (thirteen villages settled by refugees from Angola, basket weaving), Wikipedia, Nokaneng (no fuel, distance to Gumare), Wikivoyage, Okavango Delta (Maun to Shakawe buses, no view of the delta from the road), Tracks4Africa, Exploring the waterways of the Okavango Delta (Sehithwa to Gumare distance and potholes, last fuel, Gumare to Etsha 13 distance, road state and speed, August 2025 trip), Tracks4Africa, Eretsha (Gumare to Shakawe road surface, elephants on the road), Guma Lagoon Camp, access note (4x4 only, thick sand, transfers from Etsha 13).