home > destinations > africa
AFRICA
Africa is the home to a mind-blowing number of wild animals, offering the chance to see huge lions, cheetas, crocodiles, rhinos, wildebeest and migrating zebras, make you feel the vibrations of their thundering hooves underneath your feet. You can spot lions stalking their prey, a majestic elephant feeding her baby or even track gorillas through the rainforest.
With so many of these endangered animals, going on a safari is a bucket-list-worthy experience in Africa and can be a chance to glimpse rare and beautiful creatures and even fall asleep to the sounds of a lion’s roar.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of Africa’s most famous national parks, covering roughly 128 square miles of steep mountain rainforest, which home nearly 360 gorillas, and is a famous tourist spot in Uganda. The dense forest has 120 different mammal species, more than any of the country’s other national parks, though they aren’t frequently seen due to forest's density. You have to be enough lucky, to see 11 species of primate, including chimpanzees, African golden cats, the rare giant forest hog, duiker and bushbuck. There are also some 360 bird species, including 23 of the 24 endemic to the Albertine Rift and several endangered species, like the African green broadbill.
Chobe National Park, Botswana
The second-largest national park in Botswana covering 4,500 square miles and home to some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. This is a lifetime experience to visit Chobe National Park , it is unique in the abundance of animals and this is of true African nature. The park encompasses swamps, floodplains and woodland, with the Chobe River forming its northern boundary. There are approximately 120,000 elephants, along with herds of zebra, buffalo, giraffe and wildebeest who can frequently be seen congregating around the Savuti Marsh during the dry, cooler winter months between April and October. As the park is accessible by car, it also makes it less expensive to visit and you’ll find a wide range of budget friendly accommodations too near the park.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana
Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana is Africa offers the ultimate remote experience, covering more than 19,000 square miles, most of which is inaccessible. Until only very recently it was closed to the public, though the San Bushmen have lived here for what’s been estimated to be 30,000 years. Only handful of visitors visits annually the reserve to experience the Kalahari's roaring lions from their camps.
Etosha is one of the most hypnotic landscapes on Namibia with its endless pan of silvery-white sand and dust devils creating mirages that blur the horizon. Therefore it is also known as the “Place of Mirages” or the “Great White Place.” June to November is the best season when the massive herds of animals including gazelle and antelope, black rhinoceros along with the Big Five can be seen at the water holes.
This is one of the top ten largest national parks in Africa, and also the largest in Zimbabwe covering nearly 5,700 square miles, it is populated with giraffes and lions as well as leopards and cheetahs along with more than 100 other animals species. But the highlight here is the 40,000 elephants, which is one of the largest populations on the planet. Hwange also has one of the biggest populations of wild dogs left in Africa. July through October is the best time for viewing wildlife when animals tend to congregate around the water holes and the forest is stripped of its greenery, making it easier to spot them.
Kruger National Park, South Africa
With 145 mammal species, including Africa’s Big Five and an incredible array of other creatures including everything from giraffes and cheetahs to wild dogs, hippos and crocodiles. Birdlife varies from huge eagles and raptors to scavenging marabou storks to colorful hornbills, parrots and songbirds visiting Kruger National Park is one of the exciting park of wildlife on the continent, . It’s also one of the best-maintained parks in Africa, making it ideal for a more affordable, easily accessible self-drive safari.
Lake Nakuru National Park is a paradise for bird's lovers. It is a home to as many as two million flamingos that linger around the edge of the lake, drawn by their favourite food, a green algae known as Cyanophyta Spirulina Plantensis. It is one of the most unforgettable sights in the entire country. There are also more than 400 different birds that have been spotted in the park, which is on a migration route for many European species. There are also chances to view many water-loving creatures like waterbucks and hippos as well as giraffes, impalas and white rhinos.
One of Zambia’s best wildlife viewing areas is the Lower Zambezi National Park, covering more than 1620 square miles along the north western bank of the Zambezi River. The Lower Zambezi offers sightings of elephants swimming across the river, as well as impalas, zebras, buffalos, leopards, lions and cheetahs who stop to take a drink. More than 400 different bird species have been recorded in this region as well, including the unusual African skimmer and narina trogon and water birds like plovers and egrets.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve, also known as “The Mara,” offers the quintessential safari destination as a real-life “Out of Africa” scene of practically endless savannah plains teeming with a diverse array of wildlife. The landscape has grassy plains and rolling hills, and is crossed by the Mara and Talek rivers. The area nearby is dotted with villages (enkangs) of Maasai people. Every year during the great migration an estimated 2.5 million animals make the round trip trek across the Serengeti ecosystem between Kenya and Tanzania, crossing through this spectacular region.Maasai Mara National Reserve is an area of preserved savannah wilderness in southwestern Kenya, along the Tanzanian border. Its animals include lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras and hippos. Wildebeest traverse its plains during their annual migration. This annual spectacle features wildebeest, zebra and gazelle that stampede across the plains in search of greener grass, from around July to October.
Also known as "Island of The Moon", as astonishing 80 percent of Madagascar’s wildlife can be found only on this mysterious reserve. The reserve is home to a large variety of lemurs, birds, reptiles and invertebrates. Most attractive and one of the famous lemurs here is the giant indri, a fluffy, black-and-white lemur with extremely powerful long back legs, which they can use to propel themselves over 30 feet into the air. This amazing animal also sings an eerie, siren call that carries for nearly two miles across the mist-shrouded canopy. There are a total of nine different lemur species here, including the Aye Aye, which are rarely seen.
​
Ruaha is the place of all major safari animals including Rhinos. This reserve is more wild and has a untrammelled feel, what sets it apart from other reserves. It has huge populated packs of wild dog including lions, buffalo, Grant’s gazelle and a large and diverse population of antelope, including rarer species like roan and sable.
Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa
This is the best place on earth for cat lovers to see leopards, Africa’s most elusive big cat. The reserve has one of the highest populations of these beautiful, large felines. Covering 65,000 hectares adjacent to Kruger National Park, and with no fences between them, the animals wander across vast stretches of grazing land. There are also chances to watch Big Five and a host of other animals.
Solio Reserve is home to roughly 250 black and white rhinos and considered the best place to see these increasingly rare species. It is located in the valley between the beautiful slopes of Mount Kenya and the rolling peaks of the Aberdare Mountains in north-central Kenya. The reserve was created in 1970 as a black rhino breeding center by an American tycoon and nature lover, Courtland Parfet. Vist this reserve which covers 75,000-acre Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a mixed wildlife and cattle ranch operation with 88 eastern black rhinos and four of the world’s seven known northern white rhinos.
" Gorillas in the Mist ". In this small country of Africa full of hills and mountains which are enshrouded in mist every morning is best place for spotting gorillas covered with mist on the hills. Its a home of two- thirds of surviving mountain gorillas which is nearly estimated to be just 880. But only 10 groups of gorillas are accessible to tourists through various operators who arrange troupes through the dense forest.