Your complete guide to 50+ national parks across Africa — wildlife, fees, best time to visit
Africa's most celebrated wildlife reserve, famous for the Great Wildebeest Migration (July–October) and year-round big cat sightings.
Kenya's most photographed park — massive elephant herds against the snow-capped backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Kenya's largest park — home to the famous red elephants, Mudanda Rock, and the vast Yatta Plateau lava field.
Dramatic landscape with the crystal-clear Mzima Springs (hippos underwater!), volcanic hills, and rich wildlife.
A flamingo paradise with up to 2 million birds and Kenya's first park to protect both black and white rhinos.
Northern Kenya's arid wilderness — home to the unique "Samburu Special Five" found nowhere else in Kenya.
Unique — you can cycle or walk among wildlife! Dramatic gorges, geothermal features, and rock climbing.
Misty highland forests and moorlands — Kenya's best chance of spotting the rare black leopard.
Home to the world's last two northern white rhinos. Africa's largest black rhino sanctuary outside South Africa.
The world's only national park within a capital city — lions and rhinos with Nairobi's skyline in the background.
Africa's second-highest peak — a UNESCO World Heritage Site with trekking, climbing and unique alpine wildlife.
Elsa the lioness's home from "Born Free" — lush vegetation, diverse wildlife and rarely crowded.
Tanzania's crown jewel — 14,763 km² of endless plains hosting the world's greatest wildlife spectacle: 1.5 million wildebeest migrating year-round.
A collapsed volcano forming a natural Eden — the 19km-wide crater contains the densest wildlife on Earth including all Big 5.
Africa's highest peak (5,895m above sea level) — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world's most popular trekking destinations.
Ancient baobab trees up to 1,000 years old, massive elephant herds (500+), and the Tarangire River oasis for dry-season viewing.
Famous for its tree-climbing lions (unique to this area), stunning soda lake, and lush groundwater forest.
Jane Goodall's research site — Tanzania's smallest and most accessible park for chimpanzee trekking on Lake Tanganyika shores.
Tanzania's largest national park — remote, pristine wilderness with Africa's highest concentration of lions and elephants.
Africa's largest game reserve (54,600 km²) — boat safaris, walking safaris, and extraordinary wild dog populations.
UNESCO World Heritage — home to half the world's remaining mountain gorillas (about 400). An unmissable life-changing experience.
Africa's most powerful waterfall — the Nile squeezed through a 7-meter gorge. Excellent game drives and boat safaris to the falls base.
Uganda's most popular park — famous for the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, boat safaris on the Kazinga Channel, and chimps in Kyambura Gorge.
The world's best primate trekking destination — over 13 primate species including the world's highest density of chimpanzees.
Uganda's remote wilderness gem — visited by few, but offers spectacular wildlife including cheetah, ostrich and Burchell's zebra.
Uganda's only park with impala and eland — excellent for walking safaris, horse-riding and boat trips on Lake Mburo.
Rwanda's jewel — gorilla trekking in the misty Virunga volcanoes. The most accessible and premium gorilla experience in Africa.
Rwanda's only Big 5 park — lions reintroduced in 2015, rhinos in 2017. Excellent boat safaris on Lake Ihema.
Ancient montane rainforest with stunning canopy walks and the largest primate communities in East Africa.
South Africa's premier wildlife destination — 19,485 km² of Big 5 territory with excellent self-drive options and world-class lodges.
Iconic flat-topped mountain overlooking Cape Town — one of the New7Wonders of Nature with unique fynbos flora.
Home to the "Big 7" — elephants, lion, rhino, buffalo, leopard, great white shark and southern right whale!
The Kalahari desert — dramatic red dunes, black-maned Kalahari lions, and exceptional wildlife photography opportunities.
UNESCO World Heritage — Africa's third-largest coral reef, hippos, crocodiles, leatherback turtles and humpback whales.
Home to Africa's largest elephant population (120,000+) — boat safaris along the Chobe River offer extraordinary wildlife viewing.
The world's largest inland delta — a unique ecosystem where the Okavango River fans into the Kalahari Desert, creating a pristine water wilderness.
One of the world's largest game reserves — remote, unfenced and pristine. Black-maned Kalahari lions and meerkats.
The heart of the Okavango Delta — considered by many as Africa's most beautiful game reserve with extraordinary biodiversity.
Namibia's premier park — a massive salt pan surrounded by diverse wildlife coming to waterholes for dramatic viewing.
The world's oldest desert (55 million years) — stunning orange sand dunes of Sossusvlei, Dead Vlei and star-dune formations.
Africa's largest canyon and second only to the Grand Canyon — a dramatic 160km long, 550m deep canyon with a 5-day hike.
One of the world's most remote coastlines — seal colonies, shipwrecks, brown hyena, desert-adapted lion and elephant.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World — the "Smoke that Thunders" at 1,708m wide and 108m tall.
Zimbabwe's largest park — famous for its super-herds of elephants (40,000+) and excellent Big 5 sightings.
UNESCO World Heritage — famous for walking safaris and canoeing next to elephants and hippos on the Zambezi River.
Ancient granite kopjes with San rock paintings, the highest density of leopards and black and white rhinos in Zimbabwe.
Zambia's finest park — the birthplace of walking safaris with outstanding leopard sightings.
Ethiopia's UNESCO Heritage — dramatic escarpments and the home of the unique gelada baboon (bleeding-heart monkey).
Africa's oldest national park and UNESCO Heritage — home to mountain gorillas, active volcanoes, and okapi.
Egypt's first national park — spectacular coral reefs, marine life, and dramatic desert cliffs at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
Ethiopia's Afroalpine wilderness — home to the Ethiopian wolf (world's rarest canid), giant mole rat, and mountain nyala.
West Africa's trans-boundary park — a rare chance to see lions, elephants and hippos in West Africa's finest wildlife area.
Sawa Safaris can arrange permits, accommodation, transport and guided tours to any park in Africa.