Best wildlife Destinations for Animal Watching in East Africa : One of the best places in the world for a wildlife safari is thought to be East Africa. East Africa has many popular national parks and protected areas spread across the countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. East Africa is the ideal wildlife safari destination and has everything you need to make your safari vacation extraordinary, including spectacular wildebeest migration safaris, big five safaris, mountain gorilla trekking, and chimpanzee trekking.
In East Africa, There are more than 100 protected areas for wildlife safaris, each national park in a certain country offers an excellent opportunity to view animals. However, it would take a lot of time to visit all of them, so you should pick a few of the best to visit where you can see more wildlife. This article will provide you with a list of the top 10 wildlife safari locations to visit for the greatest and most amazing animal viewing opportunities, which will make your safari trip to East Africa absolutely magnificent.
The following are the best wildlife safari destinations for animal watching and viewing in East Africa.
- Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
- Ngorongoro conservation area, Tanzania
- Maasai Mara national reserve, Kenya
- Lake Nakuru national park, Kenya
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
- Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
- Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
- Nyungwe Forest National Park, Rwanda.
- Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
- Amboseli National Park, Kenya
- Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Serengeti National Park is one of the most popular and best national parks for wildlife watching safaris not only in the African continent but all over the world, and it came in at number one on a list of Africa’s top 50 travel experiences published in the magazine Travel Africa. It is famous for the millions of wildebeest and zebra that undergo an annual migration across its grassy plains.
The Serengeti national park is an endless plain with fantastic landscapes made up of kopjes that is home to incredible densities of ungulates as well as predators. In fact, it is not uncommon to see lions, leopards, cheetahs, servals, spotted hyenas, bat-eared foxes, and several jackal and mongoose species all on the same day when you’re in this park.
The Serengeti National Park can be visited all year round for wildlife watching, though the dry season is considered the best time to visit. However, remember that during this time the park is too busy and overcrowded with safari vehicles, especially in the southeast and central parts of the park.
- Ngorongoro conservation area, Tanzania.
After Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area is Tanzania’s best protected area and one of the top places for wildlife safaris in all of Africa. The Serengeti National Park borders the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which is only a few kilometers from Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks, two more well-known stops on the northern safari circuit of Tanzania, Best wildlife Destinations for Animal Watching in East Africa.
The Ngorongoro conservation area is known for being home to the largest crater in the world, the Ngorongoro crater, but it also supports a wide variety of animals, including all big fives, as well as an abundance and diversity of bird species. The Ngorongoro conservational area is one of the most popular and most visited protected area in Tanzania and East Africa.
- Maasai Mara national reserve, Kenya
Kenya is a fascinating place to visit, with a manageable yet varied range of tourist sites that may be experienced in as much luxury or adventure as you like. The Maasai Mara, Kenya’s most well-known game reserve and the one that purists most love to despise, is where most first-time visitors focus their attention.
The Maasai mara attracts a lot of tourists compared to most of its competitors, but for good reason: no other East African reserve protects such game densities. The wildebeest migration from Tanzania crosses the Mara River during the months of July through October to Maasai mara national reserve, providing tourists with unparalleled views of these manically braying, croc-dodging animals.
However, the reserve is home to an abundance of wildlife all year long, including numerous buffalo, zebra, and several antelope, as well as a healthy population of elephants and a few extinct black rhinos. Above all, the Maasai Mara is an excellent reserve for predators, especially cheetah, spotted hyena, and prides of 20 or more lions, who are very accustomed to humans and are therefore easy to see and capture on your camera.
- Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya
Due to the large part to its concentrations of up to two million flamingos, an aerial display to rival the Maasai Mara’s wildebeest migration, Lake Nakuru National Park preserves the most famous of the string of lakes that borders the Rift Valley west of Nairobi.
Lake Nakuru is a wonderfully stunning location that is encircled by hills and bordered by yellow fever trees, especially when viewed from the nearby cliffs, where the individual flamingos combine into a solid shimmering pink ribbon, dividing the alkaline lake from its bleached rim. This park, which is completely fenced in, serves as a crucial refuge for creatures on the verge of extinction and is a great area to see both types of rhino and the Rothschild’s giraffe.
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Mountain gorilla tracking at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which safeguards almost half of the endangered animal’s global population, is the main attraction for the most tourists visiting Uganda. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is best known as the best safari destination for gorilla trekking not only in East Africa, but also on the entire African continent. However, Bwindi is home to more than just gorillas. The wide paths surrounding the park’s administrative center provide excellent opportunities for forest birding.
- Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
Probably the best safari park in Uganda, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most famous park in Africa for Uganda wildlife safari watching. Best known for its uniqueness, lions climbing trees that can be seen in only a few places in Africa, with Queen Elizabeth Park being one of them. The park offers a diver range of activities such as game drives and walking safaris where you will get a chance of viewing common animals present in the park such as lions, zebras, elephants, buffaloes, gazelles, wildebeest etc.
- Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park, the setting of the movie Gorillas in the Mist and the site of Dian Fossey’s renowned gorilla habituation and anti-poaching initiative, is Rwanda’s most well-known tourist destination. It is also a very memorable site, guarding the higher slopes of the Virungas, a chain of free-standing volcanic mountains whose intimidating slopes rise imperiously to above 4,000m and are covered in enormous bamboo clumps and montane forest.
Like in the Bwindi impenetrable national park of Uganda, Volcano national park also offers fantastic Tanzania wildlife safari experience specifically the gorilla tracking. With about 96 permits issued daily, gorilla tracking, arguably the most moving and harrowing wildlife experience in the world, is the main activity in Volcano National park. Photographic opportunities are typically better than in Uganda because the gorillas frequently hang out in the open bamboo zone rather than the shadowy forest depths.
- Nyungwe Forest National Park, Rwanda
The Nyungwe Forest National Park, the largest remaining montane forest in East Africa, covers a succession of mountains as it runs south to the Burundi border, spanning an area of more than 1,000 km2. With troops of up to 400 Ruwenzori colobus easily found close to the park headquarters, as well as a dozen other species present, such as L’Hoest’s, red-tailed, Dent’s, and silver monkeys, as well as an estimated 500 chimpanzees, it has few rivals in terms of primate biodiversity.
- Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
The Tarangire National Park is a place of magnificent wilderness and spectacular game-watching, especially during the dry season, thanks to the permanent waters of the Tarangire River. The park, which is a mainstay of many Northern Circuit itineraries, is only around three hours’ drive from Arusha and offers the quintessential African panorama of acacia forest and grassland. The park is famous for being home to the largest herds of elephants and gigantic baobab trees. However, this is not the only reason to visit, there are also plenty of lions, leopards, and cheetahs to be seen, in addition to a wide range of fascinating habitats and accommodations, Best wildlife Destinations for Animal Watching in East Africa.
Tarangire national park tourist highlights includes the following;
- Stunning wildlife viewing, especially the recognizable elephant herds.
- Discover extraordinary opportunities for birdwatching, such as seeing the fish eagle.
- Open acacia woods and grass savannah provide a beautiful backdrop.
- A vast range of ecosystems and flora biodiversity can be found here.
- Stunning elephant herds can number up to 300.
- Amboseli national park, Kenya
Due to the amazing elephants that roam this area with enormous tusks, Amboseli is frequently referred to as the “Land of Giants.” The beautiful views of Mount Kilimanjaro that surround the animals in the little park are amazing. Other than elephants, a variety of plains animals are simple to identify. Fantastic photo chances are possible, and the best times to see Mount Kilimanjaro clearly are early in the morning, Best wildlife Destinations for Animal Watching in East Africa.
Four of the Big Five are present in Amboseli, which offers excellent wildlife watching. Although rhinos are missing, large herds of elephants regularly travel to and from the marshy swamps in the park’s middle. There are lots of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, and gazelles around. Out of all big cats’ animals, lions are the easiest to spot, although sightings are inconsistent. The following are the tourist highlights in Amboseli National Park;
- Fantastic wildlife viewing
- It’s easy to locate four of the Big Five. (Rhino excluded)
- Exceptional elephant sightings.
- On clear days, views of Kilimanjaro
- Excellent birdwatching, especially for swamp habitat and water birds.
- There is a good selection of lodgings that cater to various needs and tastes.
- In particular, during peak season, the park is highly crowded.
- Big cats might be challenging to spot.
