Top 10 best places to visit in east Africa provides a list of the best safari destinations in east Africa that should not be missed by anyone planning an African safari tour. Simply put, these are the best of the best attractions/destinations in east Africa, and visiting them will be an unforgettable once in a lifetime experience.
The East African region is made up of main 7 countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and the newly added Democratic Republic of Congo. East Africa is a popular tourist destination in Africa. Geographically, the region is noted for its stunning natural beauty. Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, Africa’s two highest peaks, are located here. The Nile River, Africa’s longest river, originates in Lake Nyanza, commonly known as Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake.
East Africa is a destination that everyone wants to visit; it is the best safari destination in the world, with a wide range of tourist attractions and activities that draw visitors from all over the world. The region is notable for its unique natural scenery, wildlife, and a lot of attractions and activities for tourists.
From wildlife-rich national parks to freshwater lakes and waterfalls to the greatest beaches in the Indian Ocean, East Africa’s unrivaled attractions captivate both locals and international visitors. Visitors come from all over the world to witness the magnificent scenery, plentiful animals, and learn about East African cultural activities and other attractions.
From hiking safaris on Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Rwenzori, and Mount Meru, to wildlife and big five safaris in Serengeti National Park, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Amboseli National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park, to mountain gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest National Park, Mgahinga National Park, Nyungwe national park, Virunga national park, Gombe national park, to city tours in Dar es salaam, Arusha, Kampala, Nairobi, Kigali, Kinshasa city, to cultural tours in maasai villages of Kenya and tanzania, Hadzabe and Datoga people, to beach vocation in Zanzibari and Mombasa, east Africa has it all.
There are also wonderful accommodation options in all East African destinations to make your safari holiday stunning. Each country in east Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Congo, and Uganda) has its own distinct tourist attractions and activities, ensuring that each visitor on a safari holiday to these national parks is satisfied and impressed. Because it is difficult to visit all of East Africa’s attractions due to the fact that the region has so much to offer and so many sites to see, in this post we will show you and explain the top 10 best place to visit during your East African safari vacation.
The top 10 best places to visit in East Africa right now includes;
- Kilimanjaro national park, Tanzania
- Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
- Zanzibar Island, Tanzania
- Maasai Mara national reserve, Kenya
- Murchison Falls national park, Uganda
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
- Volcano National Park, Rwanda
- Nyungwe national park, Rwanda
- Virunga National Park, Congo
- Amboseli National Park, Kenya
The above top ten best places to visit in East Africa that are currently trending will blow your mind; each destination has its own uniqueness and beauty, and simply put, if you want your East Africa safari to be exceptional, outstanding, magical, amazing, and unique, don’t forget to include those destinations in any of your Africa safari bucket list or itinerary.
- National Park of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Kilimanjaro national park is ranked first in our list of the finest and best places to visit in East Africa because it is the African icon, and no East African or African safari is complete without a visit to the African icon (Kilimanjaro). When you visit Mount Kilimanjaro, simply take some photos and bring them back home. There will be no need to explain yourself to your friends or family about your trip to Africa; instead, simply show them your photos taken while on the mountain, and everything will explain itself because the mountain is well-known throughout the world.
Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, is a free-standing, snow-covered dormant volcano. It can be seen from as far as Kenya and Amboseli National Park. Kilimanjaro attracts over 75,000 mountaineering enthusiasts each year, so it is neither the most remote nor the most difficult. It is, however, a true test of endurance, with altitude sickness being the leading cause of climbers’ failing to reach the summiting point of Kilimanjaro-Uhuru peak.
Despite the fact that it has become a very popular challenge and the experience has grown somewhat crowded with other climbers, we nevertheless strongly advise anyone to visit it during any African safari, particularly those interested in mountaineering. The rainy season on Mount Kilimanjaro is from March until the end of May, and it is not a good time to go trekking. The remainder of the year is pleasant, with the absolute peak season, which runs from July to the end of October, being comparable to the best game viewing. After all, you want to be in with a chance of reaching the summit on a clear day so you may enjoy an incredible view from Africa’s highest point.
Mount Kilimanjaro is located in East Africa’s Tanzanian country, and the trek to its highest summit, Uhuru Peak, takes between 7 and 9 days. It features around nine hiking and descending routes, including the Lemosho route, Machame route, Northern Circuit route, Rongai Route, Shira Route, Umbwe route, and Mweka route, among others. The major safari activities on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are hiking safaris while taking in the best vistas down the mountain, cycling, cultural visits, and bird watching, Top 10 Best Places to Visit in East Africa .
- Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
The Serengeti is one of Africa’s most well-known parks, known for its wildlife and traditional African beauty. It is the oldest park in Tanzania and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the site of the dramatic wildebeest migration and provides excellent animal watching all year round.
There is little doubt that Serengeti National Park ranks second on our list of the best places to visit in East Africa; it may even rank first ahead of Mount Kilimanjaro, but we must pay homage to Africa’s roof, Mount Kilimanjaro. For a long time, Serengeti National Park has been named and awarded as Africa’s best national park, beating out its rivals like Kenya’s Maasai Mara and South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Despite the fact that there are other reasons to visit Serengeti National Park, the fact that it is Africa’s best-known park is the only reason to visit this magnificent number one safari park.
The Serengeti national park is known and famous for a variety of reasons, including the great wildebeest migration, the home of the Big Five, the world’s largest concentrations of predators, birding paradise, the world’s oldest ecosystem, the gorgeous endless plain, and a larger population of species. A safari in Africa is not complete without a visit to the Serengeti National Park, which should be on everyone’s bucket list and on the agenda of any African safari tour.
Serengeti National Park offers a variety of tourist activities and attractions for all types of visitors, including honeymooners, couples, solitary travelers, and families. The Serengeti has it all. Expect to partake in a variety of tourist activities while on a Serengeti national park safari, including game drives, walking safaris, hot air balloon rides, horseback riding, cultural visits, and so on.
- Zanzibar Island, Tanzania
You can’t talk about a honeymoon safari in Africa without mentioning Zanzibar, Tanzania’s island destination. Not just now, but for a long time, Zanzibar has been the best holiday and vacation destination, especially for those looking to do something different than wildlife safaris in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro conservation areas. This is why Zanzibar has made our list of the top ten best places to visit in East Africa.
Despite its small size, Zanzibar Island has enough to offer every type of African traveler, from history buffs to undersea realm explorers, coastal habitat explorers, spice-flavored culinary connoisseurs, active-water enthusiasts, and more. All of these tourist attractions are enticing, especially when combined with the island’s casual, laid-back Swahili atmosphere, where time seems to move at a snail’s pace. You can’t go wrong with a Zanzibar vacation if you’re looking for a unique African island experience. Zanzibar tours mix laid-back beach lodging with a variety of activities and stunning places to provide a culturally rich but super-relaxing vacation.
Many tourists searching for an African vacation destination pick a Zanzibar tour, which combines the island’s beautiful beaches with classic wildlife safari spots-it’s the ideal way to round off any safari in Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda. Zanzibar is well recognized as a romantic honeymoon destination, having some of the best white and clean sand beaches in the world, as well as luxurious lodgings to satisfy any visitors in Africa. From wildlife safaris in Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park to marine life, beach leisure, and cultural and historical tours, Zanzibar has something for everyone. A failure to include Zanzibar on a list of the greatest locations to visit in East Africa would be a crime and a lack of respect.
Zanzibar has a lot to offer to tourists, and here are our recommended top things to do on any of your safari vacations in Zanzibar: visiting Stone Town, Eat at Zanzibar Pizza at Forodhani Gardens. Go For Sundowners at the Africa House Hotel, Take a Village Tour, Admire and Photograph the Zanzibari Doors, Go on Safari Blue, scuba diving, visiting Jozani Forest, swimming with wild dolphins, sunset cruising with a Dhow, kiteboarding, horse riding, sleeping in an underwater room, etc.
- Maasai Mara national reserve, Kenya
The Maasai Mara is yet another fantastic East African wildlife safari destination, and it is impossible to leave it out of our top ten list of the best places to visit in East Africa. The Masai Mara National Reserve, in south-west Kenya, is a wide and beautiful expanse of gently rolling African savannah grasslands that stretches for 1510 square kilometers and borders Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park to the south. The Masai Mara is a unique wildlife conservation haven known for its stunning natural diversity of species. It is also a top Kenya safari destination in East Africa, with numerous reasons for people to explore this animal paradise. Many lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, African buffaloes, wildebeest, giraffes, zebras, and other creatures can be found in the park in their natural habitat.
If you don’t want to see great wildebeest migration in Serengeti national park, Tanzania then make sure you have a safari scheduled that covers the Maasai Mara. The wildebeest migration is a sight to behold. It is something you must include on your bucket list. The best time to visit Kenya for the wildebeest migration is from July to October, although Kenya is a wonderful location all year round, Top 10 Best Places to Visit in East Africa .
There are numerous exciting activities available in Masai Mara national reserve. The most thrilling of these has to be the early morning hot air balloon safari, which concludes with a leisurely ‘Champagne Bush Breakfast. Game drives, Nature hikes, bush lunches, and sundowners are some of the other popular activities for tourists visiting Masai Mara.
- Murchison falls national park, Uganda
Murchison Falls National Park, arguably Uganda’s best national park, is another must-see stop on every African safari journey. Although there is no wildebeest migration here, as there is in the Serengeti and Maasai Mara national reserves, the scenery and terrain of the Murchison falls national park are worth seeing and will astonish you, making your safari experience unique. The sweeping Bunyoro escarpment tumbles into a broad, palm-dotted savanna at the northern end of the Albertine Rift Valley, where Murchison Falls National Park is located. It is Uganda’s largest and oldest conservation area, having been established as a game reserve in 1926.
The Victoria Nile runs through the park, plunging 45 meters over the rift valley wall to form the magnificent Murchison Falls, the park’s highlight and the last of an 80-kilometer length of rapids. The huge cascade drains the river’s final vitality, changing it into a broad, tranquil stream that glides peacefully across the rift valley floor into Lake Albert. This section of the river is home to some of Uganda’s most spectacular wildlife. Elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes are frequent visitors to the riverbanks, while hippos, Nile crocodiles, and aquatic birds are permanent residents.
Murchison Falls is home to around 144 mammalian species, 556 bird species, 51 reptile species, and 51 amphibian species. Murchison Falls is spectacular all year, with a large quantity of African elephants. Giraffes have traditionally only lived in the park’s northern section. The number of buffalo has risen to over 10,000, while the number of Uganda Kob has increased to over 35,000. The shoebill is the most prevalent bird along the river stretch leading up to the Albert delta, and the park is home to a diverse range of bird species. The white-crowned turaco and the red-winged grey warbler are both associated with the southern bank’s woods, Top 10 Best Places to Visit in East Africa .
Hiking at Top of Falls, boat cruises, game drives, camping, nature walks, nature viewing, birding, delta boat cruises, sport fishing, and other activities are available in this Uganda’s number one safari park.
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is another excellent destination, and it has unquestionably made our list of the top ten places to visit in East Africa. The park, along with Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, is one of Uganda’s greatest safari parks and is well renowned for mountain gorilla trekking.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located on the rim of the Rift Valley in southern Uganda. The mist-covered hillsides are protected by one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, which dates back over 25,000 years and contains over 400 different plant species. More importantly, this “impenetrable forest” also protects an estimated 320 mountain gorillas—almost half of the world’s total—including a number of habituated groups that may be tracked by visitors. More than half of the world’s mountain gorilla population lives in Bwindi. There are around 300 mountain gorillas in this area. Mountain Gorilla tours and tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest attract gorilla enthusiasts from all over the world for Uganda tours.
Aside from the endangered mountain gorillas, there are 346 bird species, more than 200 butterfly species, and 324 tree species, 10 of which are found nowhere else in Uganda. This is definitely a place to visit.
- Volcano National Park, Rwanda
The Volcano National Park in Rwanda is another excellent destination to visit in East Africa, and it meets all of the criteria for inclusion in our top ten list. The biggest concentration of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Conservation Area is found in Volcanoes National Park, which serves as a stopover for all Rwanda gorilla safaris. The Volcano National Park is the world’s most accessible gorilla national park due to its strategic placement about 2 hours from Kigali international airport.
Volcanoes National Park, which covers 160 square kilometers in northern Rwanda, is part of the Virunga volcano conservation region, which also includes Virunga National Park in Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. It began as a small region around the volcanoes of Karisimbi, Mikeno, and Visoke, which was gazzeted to safeguard mountain gorillas who were on the verge of extinction due to poaching. Volcanoes National Park offers gorilla trekking throughout the year, while the dry season is the best time to visit the park.
- Nyungwe national park, Rwanda
Nyungwe is one of Africa’s oldest rainforests, rich in species and breathtakingly gorgeous. The mountainous terrain is teeming with wildlife, including a small population of chimps and 12 other primate species, including the Albertine Rift’s rare L’Hoest’s monkey. Nyungwe National Park is in south-western Rwanda, near Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the town of Cyangungu. The park, which covers 970 square kilometers, began as a forest reserve in 1903 before being designated as a full national park in Rwanda very recently (2004), Top 10 Best Places to Visit in East Africa .
The park’s greatest valuable resource is the Nyungwe forest. It has existed since the Ice Age period and is Africa’s greatest remaining montane forest. The Nyungwe Forest is thought to be one of the Nile’s major origins. The park’s plant diversity is incredible due to the park’s alternating mountainous, hilly, and flat environment.
The main safari activity at Nyungwe Forest National Park is chimpanzee tracking. Nyungwe is currently the best spot in Rwanda to track chimps. About 400 chimpanzees dwell in the Nyungwe forest, divided into clans. Chimpanzee monitoring is a year-round activity in Nyungwe Forest. Forest and canopy treks, as well as bird watching, are among the other activities available in Nyungwe National Park.
- Virunga National Park, Congo
The Virunga National Park is located in eastern Congo and shares borders with Rwanda and Uganda. Since 1925, Africa’s oldest wildlife protected area has been noted for its wildlife variety and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Virunga National Park is a 7800-square-kilometer wonderland of rainforests, woodlands, marshes, Block Mountain, craters, grassland, and wetland flora. Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira are two active volcanoes in this magnificent Virunga Park.
Because of its animal diversity, Virunga National Park in Congo is Africa’s must-see safari destination, with over 20 primate species, 230 mammal species, over 100 reptile species, and around 700 bird species; mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are the park’s main attractions.
It’s worth noting that the park is home to almost a quarter of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, with roughly six families available for mountain gorilla trekking in Congo, and it’s still the only place in the world where you can do lowland gorilla trekking—Kahuzi Biega national park. This may, however, be done on a single Congo safari.
- Amboseli National Park, Kenya
The Amboseli national park in Kenya is the last but not least on our list of the top ten greatest and best places to visit in East Africa. Amboseli is known as the “Land of Giants” because of the huge tusks carried by elephants. In Amboseli national park the animals are positioned against the stunning backdrop of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which serves as a magnificent backdrop to the little park. Many plains animals, aside from elephants, are easy to spot. There are several fantastic photo opportunities, and the best time to see Kilimanjaro is early in the morning, Top 10 Best Places to Visit in East Africa .
Amboseli, Kenya’s second most visited national park after the Masai Mara, was designated a UNESCO-Man and the Biosphere Reserve in 1991. The park’s central basin floods during severe rains, attracting swarms of species. The reserve is a great spot to see the Big Five, as well as lesser-known and rarer types of animals. For visitors to the park, there are a variety of tourist activities and things to do, including game drives and walking safaris.
Conclusion, the places listed above are the greatest of the best and will blow your mind when you visit and explore them. East Africa has a lot to offer, so don’t be disappointed if some of the best places in the region are missing from our list, such as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, which could have been included if we had gone with a 12-list instead of a 10-list.
“Exploring such sites throughout your east Africa safari will be an outstanding safari experience because you will have seen at least 60% of East Africa Beauty. Contact us right away (FOCUS EAST AFRICA TOURS) because we are ready to design and build your East Africa safari based on the top ten best places to visit in East Africa as listed above”.
