5 National Parks In Africa You Can’t Miss
The African territory is really amazing. The great diversity of fauna and natural landscapes is amazing. If you are planning a trip to this continent, we recommend visiting some of its most famous natural areas. Find out below which are the best national parks in Africa.
Which national parks in Africa should I visit?
This question is very difficult to answer as there are more than 100 across the continent. The three countries with the highest density of preserved areas are Tanzania, Kenya and Gabon, and the most common biomes are forests, jungles and savannas.
Among the national parks in Africa, we highlight:
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Serengeti National Park
It is one of the most famous and is located in Tanzania. It has an extension of 13,000 km² and the ‘ big five ‘ live here : buffalo, rhino, lion, leopard and elephant.
Furthermore, it is home to thousands of wildebeests, which participate in one of the most impressive annual migrations.
The Serengeti National Park (pictured that opens this article) is home to zebras, hyenas, vultures, ostriches, owls, hippos, giraffes, leopards and even fossils and remains of human civilizations.
Today, the Masai tribe still live there and have “owned” the region for thousands of years.
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Kruger National Park
When we think of national parks in Africa, an image of this reserve, located in South Africa, which has an area of almost 19,000 km² comes to mind .
Until the 1920s, it was hunting ground, but in 1926 it became a protected area. This is, without a doubt, one of the best known national parks in Africa.
Within the typical fauna of Kruger, we can find zebras, oxen, elephants, lions, hippos, leopards, rhinos, meerkats, crows, cheetahs and crocodiles. Among the 500 birds that can be seen here, half live in the reserve year-round.
Those who want to be in contact with nature can sleep in camps and hotels… And well protected!
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Etosha National Park
It is located in Namibia and is one of the largest national parks in the world, with more than 22 thousand km². It is a large forest with savannas, salt lakes and several depressions.
It is home to more than 100 species of animals, including lions, elephants, zebras, gazelles ( Springboks ), rhinos and giraffes.
Etosha National Park was founded in 1907 and gradually expanded its territory. In this place, it rains a lot between October and May.
The animals take the opportunity to drink and refresh themselves in the different lakes or ponds that are formed with rainwater. Temperatures at the time are around 40°C.
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Simien Mountains National Park
It is located in Ethiopia, specifically among the mountains of the same name, within the Amhara region, where the fourth highest peak in Africa, the Ras Dashen, is located.
The park was created in 1969 and has 16 thousand hectares, including meadows, forests and rocky outcrops.
In the Simien Mountains, we can find the Ethiopian wolf, the eared vulture, the Abyssinian goat, the African black eagle, the Borni falcon and the kestrel.
One of the main inhabitants of the park are the icy baboons, similar to baboons but with a red ‘dot’ on the chest.
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Virunga National Park
The last of the African national parks on this list is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, between the Virunga and Ruwenzori mountains.
It was the first to become a protected area on the mainland and became famous for harboring mountain gorillas, an endangered species.
Furthermore, in this region, specifically around and within Lake Eduardo, we can find large groups of hippos, elephants, giraffes, okapis, chimpanzees, buffaloes and endemic birds.
