With so many spectacular national parks and game reserves to choose from, determining the ultimate once in a lifetime East African safari experience is no easy task for travellers.
From Tanzania’s protected Serengeti National Park to Uganda’s True African wilderness Kidepo Valley National Park, Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro river and Uganda’s ultimate gorilla destination Bwindi Impenetrable national park. Here is our pick of the finest national parks East Africa has to offer.
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Serengeti National Park is Africa as you always imagined it, a pristine landscape of swaying savannah, dotted with flat-topped acacia and speckled with great roving herds.
The Serengeti is the setting for the Great Migration (normally from June to July and January to February) considered the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth when over two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle chase the rains.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this area offers the same sort of phenomenal predator sightings that you’d expect from the neighbouring Masai Mara National Park in Kenya (part of the same ecosystem) but lion and cheetah chases at Serengeti are often enjoyed without another vehicle in sight.
Some visitors might be frustrated by the great expanses of plains to be covered between sightings, but the feeling of being just a dot in the immensity of Africa is part of the appeal.
Safari novices might want to consider starting their Tanzania trip with a day or two at Ngorongoro Crater, where the Big Five (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard) are often all visible in a single morning’s game drive. After that the pressure is off they can sit back and take the thrill of the Serengeti as a bonus.
Allow more time for the Serengeti to really get under your skin and head for the less visited areas near Namiri Plains or around the Grumeti River. An often overlooked alternative to the Serengeti is Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve, which offers world class lion and painted dog (or wild dog) sightings.
Kidepo Valley National Park, Uganda
With the sweeping plains of Kidepo and Narus Valleys overshadowed by the brooding mountains cape of Mount Morungole (the sacred peak of the mysterious Ik people) this park has huge appeal just for scenery alone. Tag on incredible animal sightings and tiny visitor numbers, and you have a winner.
The voracious Kidepo lions prey on roving herds of more than 4,000 buffalo (the total population in the park is said to be about 13,000) and you will often see herds of elephants moving majestically along the valleys.
The park’s isolation is off-putting for many, but the 12-hour road trip from Kampala, Uganda’s capital, (or a fairly expensive private charter flight) is a small price to pay to discover one of Africa’s genuine hidden gems.
If the journey to Kidepo is not appealing, Murchison Falls National Park is hard to beat for the sheer drama of the mighty falls themselves and for the easy wildlife viewing from cruise boats.
Samburu National Reserve, Kenya
Often overshadowed in the minds of visitors by the celebrated Masai Mara, Samburu National Reserve offers a wilder side of the Kenyan safari experience.
The Samburu people (frequently confused with their southern cousins, the Maasai) offer a similarly colourful cultural appeal in what was once Kenya’s Northern Frontier District, but few villages see many visitors and the Samburu’s sense of hospitality remains legendary.
Apart from the premier league wildlife sightings that draw most visitors to southern Kenya, Samburu National Reserve is also home to an impressive “second division” which local guides call the Samburu Special Five (featuring Beisa oryx, reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, Somali ostrich and the elegant gerenuk antelope.)
The Masai Mara National Reserve sometimes called “the greatest wildlife real estate on Earth” is a must see sight for any wildlife fan. Rather than placing an emphasis on staying at a camp in the center of the (unfenced) park, it’s worth considering staying on a private concession which can offer experiences such as walking safaris and night drives featuring the same wildlife but with a level of exclusivity rarely found in the heart of the world-famous Mara.
The 150-kilometer long Matthews Range is barely known, yet this jungle-clad “island in the sky” has been described as a “biological bonanza,” a place where you can walk in the presence of lions, buffalo and the world’s densest concentration of melanocytic black panthers.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
When planning a visit to East Africa, Bwindi Forest National Park shouldn’t miss on your list. It’s a home to about half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. If you’re travelling to East Africa gorilla trekking in Uganda’s Bwindi forest is undoubtedly the top activity, a not to be missed wildlife experience. If you are thinking of going mountain gorilla trekking activity, we advise you to book through a local tour operator.
Gorilla Trekking in Uganda is the most affordable option, with gorilla permits costing $700 compared to the $1500 in Rwanda. The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is also an exceptional place to visit in itself given its high biodiversity and unusual plant, insect, bird and animal species.
When it comes to travelling distances, it takes over 12 hours on rough roads to drive from Kampala to Bwindi. You can, however, do a fly-in tour to Bwindi which cuts out the long drives to and from Entebbe/Kampala or drive to Bwindi from Kigali, which is much closer than Kampala.
Even for those who have seen everything else that East Africa has to offer, Uganda is perhaps the best destination on the planet for ape watching. Gorilla trekking at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a life changing experience and so does chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest national park.
