The Best Safari Destinations in the World

22 May The Best Safari Destinations in the World

A safari is an experience that marks a before and after in whoever performs it. We review the best national parks and animal reserves in Africa.

The safaris (which means travel in Swahili) are more than just a fad for a long time. It is an opportunity to enter nature and contemplate its wildest side. And for this, nothing like traveling to Africa, a vast continent that keeps countless natural treasures, national parks and animal reserves, where you can enjoy lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos (these five species are called big five), giraffes, wildebeest, cheetahs or hippos, among many others.

The options are great, in terms of countries and parks. Between July and September, the dry season takes place and, although the landscape is arider, it is when the animals are most concentrated around water sources. Without a doubt, this unforgettable experience changes the life of any traveler. It would help if you did it at least once in your life, either on your honeymoon or at any other time. We will review some of the main parks:

Kruger National Park, South Africa

This Park is one of the main attractions in the country, with more than a million visits a year. It has more than 20,000 km 2 and houses some 145 species of mammals and 1,500 birds. Although it is not as spectacular as the savanna, it has six different ecosystems, which house diverse landscapes, and it is easy to see the big five . During your visit it is not allowed to leave the official roads. However, some excursions run through neighboring areas, and it is easier to see specific species.

Masai Mara Nature Reserve, Kenya

This is the best-known park in Africa. In it, you can live the authentic African experience. In western popular culture, when we imagine Africa, we believe this place. Perhaps it is because the film Memories of Africa was filmed here. It is characterized by vast herbaceous plains between which some acacia looms. It has a high population density, including the big five. The best time to visit it is between June and October, coinciding with the Great Migration, although it is in August when the animals cross the Mara River. It is recommended to spend at least three days here, in which you can also visit some of the most popular and traditional tribes on the continent: the Masai.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

It is the most famous park in the country, and in the Masai language it means ‘the endless plains’. It has an extension of 15,000 km 2 formed by vast plains that connect the Rift Valley with the Great Lakes. The kopje stands out among its varied landscapes, substantial granite formations, similar to those that appear in the movie The Lion King when Simba is presented at birth. It should be noted that this park contains the highest concentration of carnivores in the world. The best time of year to visit it is before summer when its populations have not yet begun the migration to Masai Mara. This area borders the Tarangire National Park, the Ngorongoro Reserve(a vast volcanic crater), Arusha and Lake Manyara, which make up the circuit called ‘Northern Safari’. If we hire a five or six-day safari, we will have the possibility to visit several of these areas.

Etosha National Park, Namibia

With its 22,000 km 2, this is one of the largest parks in the world. Much of its surface is covered with a saline white blanket because it was once covered by water. Although we will also find forests and savanna. One hundred fourteen species of mammals live in it. Although the great attraction of the park is the high population of endangered black rhinos and cheetahs. As with other parks, the best season to visit is during the dry season, between May and October.

Okavango Delta and Moremi Reserve, Botswana

Unlike the rest of safaris, this one runs through the water. Along the Okavango River across the African plains, instead of flowing into the sea. It flows into the Kalahari desert, where its waters are lost in the sand. Forming the largest inland delta in the world. Here we will be able to find an infinity of channels, lagoons, and plains; whose flooded surface depends on the time of year when we go. The options to visit it are several, from rides in a mokoro, a traditional indigenous canoe, passing by motorboat, light aircraft, or, outside the delta, by land in a 4×4. The Moremi Reserve, meanwhile, comprises a large part of the delta and is next to the Chobe National Park, the place where the largest population of African elephants in the world is found.