15 Best National Parks in Africa for a Rewarding Experience

Africa, the second largest continent on the earth, is home to boundless landscapes, including African parks brimming with wildlife, serene views, and incredible adventures. With over 50 national parks in Africa, choosing the top 15 is tricky. Africa is a land with immense and iconic ecological diversity. To help you explore these African national parks, we have put together a list of the top 15 deservedly popular wildlife parks.

Be ready with your cameras on, wear comfy clothes, and leave for these national parks for a dauntless wildlife encounter. We got you covered with everything, from volcanic craters, pink flamingos, the big five, and more. Enjoy your wildlife ride!

Top 15 National Parks in Africa

With so many African parks to choose from, here’s an exclusive list of all the top wildlife parks in Africa that offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Skim through the list and start creating your Africa itinerary.

1. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Located in Northern Tanzania, Serengeti is one of the best national parks in Africa. With untouched golden landscapes, ample wildlife, great wildebeest migration, and more, Serengeti National Park in Africa is how you imagine it. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where your eyes can meet every kind of wildlife that the Serengeti National Park preserves and protect.

One of the most spectacular events to watch here each year is the great wildebeest migration, where six million of these animals partake in this 40 km long run. In addition to this majestic aspect of nature, this national park also maintains the natural balance of predator and prey.
 
2. Etosha National Park, Namibia

Namibia’s pioneer wildlife venue- Etosha National Park, is among the best national parks in Africa for spotting vast and varied animals. It is home to unique and unusual wild animals, including the big five and the tallest elephants on the continent. In this national park, travelers can go camping, embark on multiple extended safaris, and spot animals in their natural habitats.

Many species reside within the bounds of the park, including endangered animals. Etosha National Park has a distinct range of landscapes, including savannas, grasslands, dry lake beds, dolomite hills, and more.
 
3. Kruger National Park, South Africa

Established in 1898, Kruger is one of the largest national parks in Africa. It boasts the African big five, which includes rhinos, lions, elephants, leopards, and buffalos. Kruger National Park is popular among tourists as well as locals. For travelers, the park has luxury safari lodges, self-driving excursions, walking tours, and camping. Visitors can also explore unique archeological and historical sites within the park beside the wildlife spotting. Kruger National Park is one of the most equipped African parks where the webcams show live animal activities.
 
4. Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Hwange National Park is one of the most beautiful parks in Africa. For all elephant lovers, it is the best place to go. This national park has a large portion of elephants. The best time to catch a glimpse of these is during the dry season when they muster around the water holes. Besides, there are leopards, lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, and rhinos to spot. The Hwange National Park is within driving distance of Victoria Falls and its international airport. It is easily accessible, and you can combine a safari with a trip to the famous attraction.

5. Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Resting against the glorious background of the Rwenzori Mountains, Queen National Park is one of the unique national parks in Africa. The park is known for its incredible variety of habitats, grassland, lakes, forests, savannah, and wetlands. It is considered the home of the best safaris in Africa. The Queen Elizabeth national park has gracious landscapes. The unusual thing about this park is that its lions are famous for tree-climbing- a rare behavior of an animal. Apart from this, there are also buffaloes, elephants, leopards, chimpanzees, hippos, and over 500 types of birds.

6. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

South Luangwa National Park is a place for a walking safari. It is one of the most secluded national parks in Africa. However, it is known for its dense wildlife and untouched natural environment. It is the origin of walking safaris. Besides the high concentration of leopards and other animals, there are hundreds of bird species, including kingfishers, eagles, and herons. You can explore the whole park by boat and on a fly-camping walking safari.
 
7. Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Mountain gorillas are the most elegant animal in Africa. Situated in northwestern Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park is among the most popular national parks in Africa, where you can find endangered mountain gorillas. If you like to spot endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, you must add Volcanoes National Park to your bucket list. With a total of 1000 left in the wild, most of these gorillas settle within Volcanoes National Park. The other things you can do here are roam around the lakes and mountain biking.

8. Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

Situated in Western Namibia, Namib-Naukluft National Park is one of the largest national parks in Africa and the world. The Namib is the oldest desert in the world- the dunes here are composed of millions of years old sand. This national park is the meeting point of the Namib desert in the west and the Naukluft Mountains in the east. You will see an exceptional collection of creatures that can survive dry conditions. These are snakes, geckos, and hyenas. It is not just a national park but also a desert.

9. Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

Lake Nakuru National Park is a bird watcher’s wonderland. It is among the top 20 national parks in Africa that attract ample tourists annually. This national park has a type of algae that attracts a staggering amount of pink flamingos on the algae in Lake Nakuru. Besides the iconic flamingos, the park harbors other species like cheetahs, white rhinos, warthogs, giraffes, baboons, and more. You can also see distinct bird species like the pied kingfisher, the Goliath heron, and the African fish eagle.

10. Table Mountain National Park, South Africa

Table Mountain National Park is one of its kind urban-based national park worldwide. This wildlife park is among the top 10 national parks in Africa. The mountain range offers crisscrossed trails of varying difficulty levels- each presenting spectacular views. From watching the sunrise over the city atop Lion’s head to seeing the sunset on the Atlantic Ocean from the Pipe Track, it gives you the experience of a lifetime. While strolling around the Newlands Forest, you can spot South Africa’s national flower (the king protea) and colorful sunbirds.

11. Ngorongoro National Park, Tanzania

Ngorongoro National Park is one of the sought-after African parks. It is among the best national parks in East Africa. Abode to the highest inactive volcanic crater in the world, Ngorongoro is one of the wonderful places for an African wildlife safari. The crater houses over 25,000 animals. The park is filled with many wild animals like lions, hippos, gazelles, buffalo, wildebeest, and more. It is also home to a few endangered animals- Golden Cat and Black Rhino. You can also find evidence of human evolution in this area.

12. Masai Mara National Park, Kenya

Located in South-west Kenya, Masai Mara is continent’s one of the best national parks in Africa. Besides, it is also the most prominent safari destination in Africa. There are two main areas of Masai Mara national park. The inner portion features the untouched wilderness, and the outer part remains for cattle of the Masai people. The ubiquitous wildlife animals you may find here are hippo, reedbuck, giraffe, roan antelope, zebra, crocodile, Waterhog, various species of monkeys, and others.
 
13. Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Laid against the dazzling backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli National Park is one of the notable African parks. The park is an undisturbed bliss of swamps, spectacular natural beauty, and open plains. It is well-known for containing over 400 species of birds and more than 47 species of raptors because of its expansive swamps. It is amongst the best places for bird watching and bird photography. Furthermore, you can watch the elephants grazing against the glorious backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro. Not just this, you will catch a glimpse of stunning sunsets in the vast horizons and a rare chance to get close to some of the most fierce creatures of Africa.

14. Lake Malawi National Park, Malawi

Nestled on the Southern end of one of the deepest lakes in the world, Lake Malawi is a magnificent wildlife and safari park. The national park is encompassed by sandy beaches, wooded hillsides, lagoons, rocky shorelines, and swamps, making it one of the best national parks in Africa. Lake Malawi is also listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Moreover, it is one of the most biodiverse lake regions on the earth. This park houses a large population of fish and an array of African safari animals, including hippos, pythons, elephants, black eagles, and more.

15. Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

Located in Tanzania’s Manyara Region, Tarangire National Park is one of the most beautiful African parks. The park has exhilarating sights and incredible wildlife. The Tarangire river flows through the northern part of the park and offers a vital source for the wildlife that lives there. You can spot more than 500 species of birds, including Leopards, Giraffes, Lions, Zebras, and Wildebeests. You should visit this national park during the dry season when the safari wildlife stays close to the river, offering some magnificent animal encounters.

Get Ready to Roam in Africa with Dook!

With so many national parks, deciding where to go next can take time. No worries! We are here to help you select the best. Dook offers you the best Africa tour packages. Africa has dynamic wildlife that everyone must explore at least once. It takes you closer to nature and its being. These African parks are the best way to explore the unspoiled side of mother earth.

To match your adventurous spirit, we have numerous travel packages. With our tour packages, you can enjoy a stress-free vacation. The best part about our vacation packages is that they are pocket-friendly. So, don’t wait and relish the serene beauty of Africa with Dook.

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