East Africa is home to stunning safari parks which allow tourists to spot spectacular wildlife and birdlife. Tourists can enjoy walking safaris, game drives, cycling tours, and hot air balloon rides to explore these stunning locations. Here are our top 10 picks for the best safari tours that travel lovers can experience during their trip in East Africa!
- Arusha National Park, Tanzania
Arusha National Park is one of the most popular safari locations in East Africa, and hosts over 65000 visitors each year. A must-see spot for travel lovers, it allows tourists to find animals such as buffaloes, gazelles, hyenas, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, zebras, monkeys, hippos, and apes! Travelers can also visit nearby locations such as Ngurdoto Crater, Mount Meru, and Mount Kilimanjaro where they can enjoy unforgettable hiking and climbing adventures, and experience the breathtaking beauty of the region.
- Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Maasai Mara National Reserve is an amazing safari location in East Africa. The park spans over 1500 square kilometers, and is a great spot to visit for a safari or a cultural tour. Travelers can find spectacular wildlife, including animals such as lions, leopards, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos, cheetahs, zebras, elephants, rhinos, foxes, bushbucks, hartebeests, aardvarks, and antelopes. Tourists can also spot wildebeests, and watch as they cross the Mara River during their Great Migration.
- Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania
At Selous Game Reserve, tourists can enjoy an exciting game drive or safari, and watch wildlife such as lions, elephants, hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, wild dogs, wildebeests, zebras, leopards, giraffes, hyenas, rhinos, baboons, cheetahs, jackals, and monkeys. Tourists can also enjoy bird watching as the park is home to over 350 species of exotic birds such as lapwings, kingfishers, kestrels, herons, and eagles.
- Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
The spectacular Serengeti National Park is one of the most popular national parks in East Africa. The Park offers stunning views of scenic landscapes and gorgeous flora and fauna, and is home to glorious wildlife which includes lions, leopards, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, gazelles, antelopes, rhinos, crocodiles, wildebeests, zebras, baboons, and hyenas! The park is excellent for bird watching as visitors can find birds such as hornbills, weavers, starlings, herons, and woodpeckers! Tourists can enjoy camping, walking safaris, a hot air balloon ride, or a game drive to explore the park!
- Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
Covering 3893 square kilometers, Murchison Falls National Park is the largest national park in Uganda. At Murchison Falls, water from the River Nile plunges down 43 meters, creating an extraordinary sight that all nature lovers should witness. At this must-see location, tourists can enjoy boating in the river, hot air balloon safaris, fishing, hiking, nature walks, game drives, bird watching, and wildlife viewing!
- Nairobi National Park, Kenya
Nairobi National Park is excellent for wildlife viewing as it is home to lions, cheetahs, gazelles, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, buffaloes, and over 50 rhinos, which are a critically endangered species so the park is considered a rhinoceros sanctuary. Tourists can also find 400 species of birds, such as ostriches, herons, fiscals, moorhens, and lapwings!
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
In southwestern Uganda, Bwindi National Park is a stunning national park, surrounded by hills covered in rainforests that date back to more than 25,000 years. The forest is home to over 400 plant species, and around half of the gorilla population of the world. Visitors can go for gorilla trekking, where they climb up the slopes to find gorillas and other primates in their natural habitat, where they are healthy and protected.
- Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park is one of Rwanda’s best safari parks. They can enjoy gorilla trekking, which is generally a 1-2 hour hike that takes travelers to the gorilla’s natural habitat. The path can be muddy and surrounded by dense vegetation, but the trek is manageable and easy. The trek begins on the edge of a volcano, from where the tourists go into the dense forest and climb up to the summit. The mountain gorilla is majestic and observing the amazing creatures is an unforgettable and extraordinary experience. Parc National des Volcans, also known as Volcanoes National Park, is located in the Virunga Mountains, and is known for its stunning and spectacular biodiversity.
- Saadani National Park, Tanzania
Saadani National Park is unique and unforgettable as it is located right on the Indian Ocean, so it allows tourists to enjoy a beach vacation as well as a safari. Tourists can relax on the scenic beach, walk on the soft sand, or spot animals such as giraffes, elephants, warthogs, lions, buffaloes, waterbucks, baboons, monkeys, and wildebeests!
- Amboselli National Park, Kenya
Offering stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro, Kenya’s Amboseli National Park is one of the top rated safari parks in East Africa. The region is home to more than 50 mammal species, and over 400 bird species. Tourists can spot leopards, giraffes, elephants, wild dogs, dik-diks, cheetahs, buffaloes, kudus, lions, crocodiles, mongooses, and zebras.