In Africa, East Africa is a well-liked travel destination. Geographically speaking, the area is well known for its breathtaking natural beauty. Here are Africa’s two highest peaks, Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Africa’s largest lake, Lake Nyanza, also known as Lake Victoria, serves as the source of the Nile River, the continent’s longest river. Everyone wants to travel to East Africa since it is the best safari destination in the world and has a variety of tourist attractions and activities that attract travelers from all over the world. The area is known for its distinctive natural environment, wildlife, and abundance of tourist attractions and activities.
Both domestic and foreign tourists are enthralled by East Africa’s unmatched attractions, which range from national parks with abundant animals to freshwater lakes and waterfalls to some of the best beaches in the Indian Ocean. People come from all over the world to see the breathtaking environment, abundant wildlife, and other attractions while also learning about East African culture.
All of East Africa’s locations provide fantastic lodging choices to add to the beauty of your safari vacation. Each country has its own unique tourist destinations and activities that guarantee the satisfaction and awe of every visitor on a safari vacation to these national parks. Due to the fact that there are so many places to see and things to do in East Africa, it is challenging to see them all. In this post, we will show you and discuss the top 10 places that you should visit while on a self drive in East Africa. 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 itineraries. These top ten best places to visit in East Africa will blow your mind; each destination has its own uniqueness and beauty.
Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro National Park
Because it is the African icon and no East African or African safari is complete without a visit to the African icon, Kilimanjaro National Park is ranked first on our list of the finest and best locations to visit in East Africa (Kilimanjaro). Simply capture some pictures of Mount Kilimanjaro and bring them back to your home country. Because the mountain is well-known worldwide, you won’t need to explain anything to your friends or family about your trip to Africa; instead, just show them the images you took while on the summit and keep quiet :).
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park
One of Africa’s most well-known parks, the Serengeti is renowned for its animals and authentic African beauty. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is the oldest park in Tanzania. It is the location of the spectacular wildebeest migration and offers fantastic year-round wildlife viewing.
There’s no doubt that Serengeti National Park comes in at number two on our list of the top tourist destinations in East Africa; in fact, it might even come in first place after Mount Kilimanjaro, but we must honor Africa’s roof, Mount Kilimanjaro. In competition with parks in South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Kenya’s Maasai Mara, Serengeti National Park has long held the title of best national park in Africa.
Tanzania’s Zanzibar Island
Speaking of an African honeymoon safari would be incomplete without mentioning Tanzania’s island of Zanzibar. Zanzibar has long been considered the greatest place to go on holidays and vacation, especially for those seeking an alternative to wildlife safaris in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro conservation regions. This is the reason Zanzibar is included in our list of the top ten destinations in East Africa. Zanzibar Island, despite its modest size, has something to offer every kind of African traveler, from history buffs to spice-flavored food connoisseurs, underwater realm and coastal habitat explorers, and active-water enthusiasts.
There are many activities to do in Zanzibar for tourists, but here are our top suggestions for any safari trips there: a trip to Stone Town At Forodhani Gardens, eat at Zanzibar Pizza. Visit the Africa House Hotel for sundowners, take a village tour, admire and take pictures of the Zanzibari Doors, go on Safari Blue, go scuba diving, go to Jozani Forest, go swimming with wild dolphins, ride a dhow at sunset, go kiteboarding, go horseback riding, go sleeping in an underwater room, etc.
Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve
It is impossible to leave the Maasai Mara off of our top ten list of the finest locations to visit in East Africa because it is yet another fantastic place for an East African wildlife safari. The Masai Mara National Reserve in south-west Kenya is a vast and stunning area of gently rolling African savannah grasslands that borders Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park to the south and covers 1510 square kilometers. The Masai Mara is a special place for animal conservation that is renowned for its astounding natural species variety. With so many reasons to visit this animal sanctuary, it is also a popular Kenya safari location in East Africa. Numerous elephants, rhinoceroses, African buffaloes, wildebeest, giraffes, zebras, lions, cheetahs and other creatures in their natural habitat.
Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park
Another essential destination on every African safari is Murchison Falls National Park, probably the best national park in Uganda. The Murchison Falls National Park’s scenery and topography are worth seeing and will wow you, making your safari experience distinct, even though there isn’t a wildebeest migration like there is in the Serengeti and Maasai Mara national parks. Where Murchison Falls National Park is located, near the northern extremity of the Albertine Rift Valley, the sweeping Bunyoro escarpment plunges into a wide, palm-dotted savanna. Being founded as a wildlife reserve in 1926, it is the largest and oldest conservation area in Uganda.
This is Uganda’s top safari park, offering hiking at Top of Falls, boat cruises, wildlife drives, camping, nature walks, nature viewing, birding, delta boat cruises, sport fishing, and other activities.
The majestic Murchison Falls, the park’s crowning achievement and the end of an 80-kilometer line of rapids, are formed when the Victoria Nile, which flows through the park, plunges 45 meters over the rift valley wall. As a result of the massive falls, the river loses all of its energy and transforms into a wide, placid stream that flows peacefully through the rift valley floor and into Lake Albert. Some of Uganda’s most impressive wildlife can be found along this portion of the river. Hippos, Nile crocodiles, and aquatic birds live permanently along the riverbanks, while elephants, giraffes, and buffalo are regular visitors.
Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Another great destination that has undoubtedly entered our list of the top ten places to visit in East Africa is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It is one of Uganda’s top safari parks and is widely known for mountain gorilla trekking, along with Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Southern Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is situated on the edge of the Rift Valley. One of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, dating back more than 25,000 years and containing more than 400 different plant species, protects the mist-covered hillsides. More significantly, this “impenetrable forest” safeguards an estimated 320 mountain gorillas—nearly half of the total in the world—including many habituated groups that may be tracked by tourists.
More than half of the world’s surviving mountain gorillas live in Bwindi. There are roughly 300 mountain gorillas in this area. Gorilla lovers from all over the world travel to Uganda for mountain gorilla tours and tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Along with the critically endangered mountain gorillas, Uganda is home to 324 tree species, more than 200 butterfly species, 346 bird species, and 10 tree species that are unique to Uganda.
Rwanda’s Volcano National Park
Another great place to travel in East Africa is Rwanda’s Volcano National Park, which fits all of the requirements to be listed among our top ten. All Rwanda gorilla safaris stop at Volcanoes National Park, which is home to the largest population of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Conservation Area. Due to its advantageous location roughly two hours from the international airport in Kigali, the Volcano National Park is the most accessible gorilla national park in the world.
The Virunga volcanic conservation region, which also contains Virunga National Park in Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, includes Volcanoes National Park, which spans 160 square kilometers in northern Rwanda. Mountain gorillas were on the edge of extinction owing to poaching, therefore a small area was designated as a protected area around the volcanoes of Karisimbi, Mikeno, and Visoke. While gorilla trekking is available year-round in Volcanoes National Park, the best time to explore the park is during the dry season.
Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park
One of Africa’s oldest rainforests, Nyungwe is abundant in species and breathtakingly beautiful. A tiny population of chimpanzees and 12 other primate species, including the uncommon L’Hoest’s monkey from the Albertine Rift, can be found in the mountainous region. The hamlet of Cyangungu is home to Nyungwe National Park, which is located in south-western Rwanda close to Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 970 square kilometer park, which was first established as a forest reserve in 1903, was just recently (2004) named one of Rwanda’s Top 10 Best Places to Visit in East Africa.
The Nyungwe forest is the park’s most priceless asset. It is Africa’s largest remaining montane forest and has persisted since the Ice Age. One of the principal origins of the Nile is supposed to be the Nyungwe Forest. Due to the park’s alternating mountainous, hilly, and flat environment, the plant diversity is astounding.
Chimpanzee tracking is the primary safari activity in Nyungwe Forest National Park. Currently, Nyungwe is the best location in Rwanda for chimpanzee tracking. The Nyungwe forest is home to 400 chimpanzees who are separated into clans. In Nyungwe Forest, chimpanzee trekking is a year-round activity. Nyungwe National Park also offers bird watching, forest and canopy trekking, and other activities.
Congo’s Virunga National Park
Eastern Congo is home to the Virunga National Park, which also borders Rwanda and Uganda. Africa’s first wildlife reserve, which was established in 1925, has long been renowned for the richness of its animals and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A 7800 square kilometer wonderland of marshes, craters, Block Mountain, grasslands, and wetland plants make up Virunga National Park. In this majestic Virunga Park, there are two active volcanoes: Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira.
With approximately 20 primate species, 230 mammal species, over 100 reptile species, and over 700 bird species, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s must-visit safari destination. Mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are the park’s principal attractions.
It’s important to note that the park—Kahuzi Biega national park—is still the only area in the world where lowland gorilla trekking is possible. It is home to over a quarter of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world, with about six families accessible for mountain gorilla trekking in Congo. However, this may be accomplished in a single Congo safari.
Kenya’s Amboseli National Park
The tenth and final location on our list of the top attractions in East Africa is the Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Due to the enormous tusks that elephants in Amboseli carry, the area is referred to as the “Land of Giants.” The animals in Amboseli National Park are situated against the beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro, which provides a stunning background to the small park. Aside from elephants, many other plains species are simple to identify. The ideal time to visit Kilimanjaro is early in the morning, and there are many wonderful photo opportunities.
After the Masai Mara, Amboseli is Kenya’s second-most popular national park. In 1991, it was named a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve. When there are heavy rains, the park’s center basin floods, bringing swarms of different species. The reserve is an excellent place to see the Big Five as well as uncommon and less well-known species of wildlife. Game drives and walking safaris are only a couple of the tourism activities and things to do available to park visitors.
The destinations mentioned above are the best of the best, and visiting and exploring them will leave you speechless. Don’t be disappointed if some of the best destinations in East Africa are missing from our list; examples include the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania and Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, which could have been included if we had chosen a 12-list rather than a 10-list. East Africa has a lot to offer.
Exploring such spots during your safari in the region will be an exceptional safari experience because you would have seen at least 60% of East Africa’s beauty. Contact Drive East Africa to book yourself a self drive 4X4 car in East Africa.
