Luxury safari operator Singita has revealed plans for a new lodge in Botswana's Okavango Delta, marking the brand's first venture into one of Africa's most beautiful wilderness areas. Olivia Palamountain reports

Singita has been helping to preserve Africa’s wildlife and wilderness for the past 31 years, offering guests exceptional safari experiences at 19 luxury, award-winning lodges, and camps across four countries.

New to the brand's portfolio and set to open in July 2026, Singita Elela (meaning 'to flow' in Setswana) will occupy an exclusive 170,000-hectare concession, one of the largest private areas in the Delta.

The property's design and operation will adapt to the region's dramatic seasonal changes, from flood waters to dry savannahs.

The year-round lodge aims to immerse guests in the Delta's complex ecosystem, where ancient waterways fill with seasonal rains and recede with changing seasons. The landscape transforms throughout the year, creating a shifting mosaic of lagoons, grasslands, and swamps teeming with diverse wildlife.Elela's concept celebrates the Delta's eternal cycles, with design elements reflecting the natural environment's fluidity. The lodge will adapt to its surroundings, much like the ecosystem it inhabits, offering guests an authentic experience of this UNESCO World Heritage site.

The development represents a natural extension of Singita's 100-year conservation purpose, adding to their portfolio of prestigious African safari properties. Unlike their other locations, Elela will uniquely emphasise the vast openness characteristic of the Delta region.

This expansion into Botswana positions Singita within one of Africa's most biodiverse regions, known for its remarkable wildlife concentrations and pristine wilderness. The lodge promises to continue Singita's tradition of combining luxury tourism with environmental conservation.