TOP DESTINATIONS KENYA

Kenya, the pioneer safari destination, ranks highly as a leading Africa safari destination. It’s hard to talk about African safari without mentioning Kenya somehow. The country is home to the absolute most sought after untamed nature reserves, including the Masai Mara, which along with the Serengeti, has the Great Migration from July to October. Though it is sometimes referred to as annual event, the Great Migration is actually a fluid and continuous, year-long journey of animals migrating through Tanzania and Kenya. In total, this circuit spans some 1,200 miles.

Kenya is where “going on safari” started back in 1895 when the British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate. White hunters then popularized safari in Kenya with trophy hunters, including big names like Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. After the second world war, vast numbers of tourists started traveling to Kenya, lured by stories of plenitudes of wild animals; more than 3 million large mammals were roving East Africa’s plains at the time. Today visitors continue to flock to this East African destination each year. Although humans have made their mark, Kenya still holds onto its pristine wilderness.

Kenya lies on Africa’s east coast. Uganda borders it to the west, Tanzania to the south, South Sudan and Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. It’s a land of astonishing diversity with extraordinary tourist attractions excellent for wilderness adventure vacations. Nairobi, the capital, is a bustling city where colonial buildings rub shoulders with modern skyscrapers, while steamy, coastal Mombasa retains its solid Arabic influence and history as it continues to be Kenya’s largest and busiest port.

Kenya is an excellent addition to gorilla trekking in the neighboring Uganda or Rwanda. But if on your first safari in Kenya you want to wander only around the savannah wilderness, the destination on its own is fulfilling. When planning your trip, including the coastal beaches. They are a perfect getaway vacation to end your Kenya safari.

Highlights

• Explore the Great Rift Valley dotted with a string of lakes including Nakuru and Naivasha; fertile highlands with towering peaks such as Mt. Kenya; and a coastline and islands with long pristine sandy beaches and marine parks full of coral reefs and colorful fish. Its two major cities couldn’t be more different.

• The Big Five are all present and can be spotted with ease. Elephants, buffaloes, and unusually large lion prides are common. Leopards are more elusive but relatively easy to locate with a local pro guide. Up to three dozen black rhinos still survive. Even outside of the migration season, ungulates are well represented; there’s no better place for close-up views of the eland, the world’s largest antelope. A Kenya safari game drive will likely see giraffe, impala, gazelle, topi, Coke’s hartebeest, reedbuck, Defassa waterbuck, hippo, and warthog.

• Birders will find East Africa’s magnificent savanna birdlife around the Mara triangle, with more than 500 species recorded in and around its borders, including such perennial favorites as Lilac-breasted roller, superb starling, and Little bee-eater.

• During annual wildebeest migration, wildlife drama eclipses during the multiple river crossings, punctuating the great herds’ three-month tenure in the Masai Mara, from August to October.