Over the years much has been written about the best safari parks in Africa and today still, East Africa can boast about the many national parks, conservancies and game reserves it has, offering safari experiences unlike others.
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater are tops there and Serengeti is world famous for the migration of the wildebeest, a phenomenon unlike any other in this world where the rains In Serengeti dictate the travel of the wildebeest in a circular fashion around Serengeti, including parts of the Mara in Kenya.
The Ngorongoro Crater, also the only one of its kind in the world, a volcanic caldera and is home to the Big 5, and other wildlife such as the hyena, wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, gazelle, flamingo and hundreds of bird species. A safari in Northern Serengeti should include a night or two in Ngorongoro.
In Kenya, the Masai Mara Game Reserve which is a year-round safari destination and is the most visited park which also sees the height of the migration during the months of July and August (again this may vary with the amount of rainfall). Other popular safari destinations in Kenya are the Amboseli National Park, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Samburu Game Reserve and Tsavo National Park.
Not to be overlooked is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda if you’re looking for an experience that involves tracking Gorillas and other primates like Chimpanzees and Black and White Colobus Monkeys. The main attraction in Bwindi are the mountain gorillas. The terrain of this dense rainforest is made up of valleys and ridges of lush green landscape where there are at least 120 mammal species and over 300 bird species reside.
For another type of Gorilla tracking experience, there is the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, together with the Akagera and Nyungwe National for other wildlife safaris. At Volcanoes Park, not only are the gorillas a big draw, but visually the Virungas are stunning and offer hiking and trekking activities and take a tour of the Musanze Caves while you are there.
Akagera National Park offers a great safari experience as it is home to many large plains games such as elephant, buffalo, topi, zebra, waterbuck and more. Also introduced into the park are predators like leopard, hyena, jackal and lion.
Nyungwe National Park is a majestic rainforest where tall old trees tower above you and which harbors over 300 bird species making it a birder’s paradise. It is home to habituated chimpanzees and 12 other primate species. To take in the beauty of this park, one must go visit the Nyungwe Canopy Walk, a bridge suspended between huge trees 60 metres above the forest floor. This 200 metre long walk offers a unique view of the forest with close encounters with butterflies, birds and monkeys.