Lake Manyara National Park, named after the Wild Sisal that grows in the area, is dominated by the soda lake that extends over an area of 230 sq Km, or a third of the total area of the park. Lake Manyara National park is a complex and exciting park: the ever-changing vegetation which starts with thick forests of mahogany, fig trees and wild mango, fed by tens of underground streams which drain the Ngorongoro Highlands, provide a haven for colourful birds, monkeys and shy dwarf antelopes, and open up in to woodland, a favourite for elephants and impala, and then unfolds in to open savannah, teeming with herds of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffes… before spilling in to Lake Manyara, home to hundreds of thousands of water birds including flamingos and pelicans. This means that you never know what to expect- every corner taken brings endless possibilities… you could end up at the Hot Springs, or perhaps at the hippo pools, or if you are lucky, you could chance upon the park’s famous tree-climbing lions!

14673sqKm of endless plains, the Serengeti National Park lies in north western Tanzania, straddling the border with Kenya. The Park encompasses half of the 30,000 sq Km Serengeti- Mara Ecosystem, a range of land defined by the limits of the Wildebeest movements throughout the year. Tanzania’s oldest park, with its even more ancient landscape forged by the past volcanic activity of the several volcanoes in the nearby Ngorongoro Highlands; the rich grasses of the plains play host to the most spectacular numbers of wildlife in the world.

Almost every African animal species is represented in the Serengeti, birthplace of the millions of plains game that continually circle the ecosystem. Huge granite boulders, known as kopjes, are characteristic of the park, and provide sanctuary for birds, colourful Agama lizards and sombre snakes, adorable rock hyraxes, as well as the big cats that seek shelter from the elements. Although famed for its plains, the Serengeti encompasses woodland, thornbush, swamps and Lakes Lagaja and Magadi, supporting over 30 species of large herbivores and over 500 species of birds, including Eurasian migrants, with its diversity. The Gol and Moru Kopjes, the central Seronera area which is an oasis of springs, pools and surprisingly, palm trees, and the equally mysterious “Whistling Thorn” country- the Western Corridor which leads to the Grumeti River, home of Africa’s largest crocodiles, are some of the natural obstacles which the wildebeest and zebra encounter and must cross, during their annual migration up north towards the Masai Mara.

Part of the Serengeti- Mara Ecosystem, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers an area of 8, 280 sq Km. An area of outstanding natural beauty, indeed one of the most breathtaking in the whole of Africa, the Ngorongoro area embraces rolling fertile green hills covered with flowers during the rainy season, while in the sheltered valleys and plains, Clusters of villages that are the home of the red-robed Maasai herdsmen, fierce in the protection of their prized cattle and traditions, abound. Forests, rivers, lakes and swamps, the silent silhouettes of mountain and volcanic craters, including some of the oldest in AfricaThese extinct volcanoes, whose past activity contributed to the landscape and lush vegetation of Ngorongoro as well as that of the nearby Serengeti plains, include Lemagrut, Sadiman, Oldeani, Olmoti, Sirua, Lolmalasin and Empakaai, always a favourite with hikers, and last but not least, the Ngorongoro Crater- a World Heritage Site. Heading out of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and out towards the Serengeti, we find the Olduvai Gorge, an important archaeological site.

The Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world measuring over 600m deep and some 8-19Km in diameter, is believed to be about 8 million years old. The steep descent into the crater is almost as exciting as the scene that awaits you within the crater; a fantastic showcase of nature’s best. The diverse landscape within the crater, in which the savannah blends in to swamps, rivers, marshes, forests and cliffs, provides sanctuary for the black-maned lions, cheetahs, buffalos, elephants, and leopards that live side by side with thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and zebras, both black-backed and golden jackals. The Crater is also home to some of Tanzania’s last remaining rhinos. Flamingos and hippos inhabit the alkaline lakes and fresh water pools; old elephants can be seen patiently wading through the papyrus ponds, while way up, on the slopes of the crater, unique and beautiful Afro-Alpine vegetation blankets the ground in a rich green cover, occasionally hidden by the mist and fog that occurs at the rim, which stands at over 2300m.

Known as the “Land of Giants”, Amboseli National Park lives up to its name. A 4-hour drive away from the Capital City, Nairobi – easily connected from Masai Mara Game Reserve – this is one of the best safari parks with a dramatic scenery. The snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro stands majestically in the background, complementing the endless plains of the dry salt pan of Lake Amboseli that occasionally comes to life during the long rainy season. Large elephant herds, buffalos, wildebeest, Maasai giraffes, Common zebras, gazelles and other plains game tread daily to the hippo-guarded marshes and swamps of Ol Tukai – an oasis that derives its name from the Maa word for the predominant Doum Palm trees in this area – that is fed by the underground rivers from the gargantuan mountain. The prolific birdlife, which includes several endemic species and a handful of rare species, is an exhilarating attraction for birders. The midday mirage, the occasional daytime dust devils and the sun rays that pierce through the cloud in the evening form a perfect photography canvas, making Amboseli a popular photography destination.

The largest metropolis city, the central point and start of any safari in Kenya, Nairobi, the Capital City of Kenya. It flourished and expanded once the Kenya- Uganda Railway construction set up a supply depot at “Mile 327”, in 1899. Today, a small Railway Museum pays tribute to the workers and engineers who worked on the tracks that opened up the interior of the country, and has on display original wagons and engines that had originally been shipped in by the British, piece by piece, from India. “The Green City in the Sun”, as it has come to be known, Nairobi is dotted with several recreational parks and the Nairobi Arboretum, which showcase the spectacular flora species of Kenya. The National Museum has on display historical art and weapons from Kenya’s 42 tribes, archaeological exhibits from diggings carried out in various parts of the country, and a modern art and culture section which frequently hosts plays and concerts. There are several restaurants, clubs, shops and markets to be visited, as well as the Karen Blixen house, the Giraffe Centre, the Snake Park and Aviary, the Bomas of Kenya Cultural Centre which presents traditional dances daily, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust- an orphanage for elephants and rhinos which are rehabilitated prior to being released back to the wild, and the Nairobi National Park, home to Kenya’s largest cheetah population and also site of one of the top black rhino sanctuaries in East Africa.

Boasting a large number of elephants as well as black rhinos, Aberdare National Park lures those who want more than just a safari. With dense forests, 300m-high waterfalls and amazing hikes, this park is as much about the flora as it is the fauna. The Kikuyu name for the mountains is Nyandarua (drying hide), due to its distinctive outline. It is a 492 sq Km fairy tale paradise of dense highland forest and misty spaces of Afro-alpine moorland, deep gorges and ravines where icy rivers plunge in glorious cascades and waterfalls such as the Gura (791ft) or Karura Falls (894ft). The Salient, stretching out towards the nearby town of Nyeri, was once an elephant migration route. These great animals remain within the park together with buffalo, a wide variety of antelope, giant forest hog, the elusive bongo antelope, black rhino, lions, leopards and hyenas. Encountering a group of elephants at a narrow bend in the road, in the middle of this thick luxuriant vegetation is a completely new sensation. At 2000m, forest gives way to dense clusters of bamboo. At 3500m, the vegetation is already scarce and is mostly composed of tracts of heather. Here, Giant Lobelias and Giant Senecio, which grow to heights of 5m, flourish. The highest point is Ol Doinyo Lesatima, at 3999m. The region has three distinctive vegetation zones: thick highland forest, bamboo forest and Afro-alpine moorland. A visit to either of these areas provides a bird-watching opportunity of no less than 13 species of sunbirds; including the northern double-collared, golden-winged, tacazze, green-headed, variable and scarlet-tufted malachite, along with the larger birds of prey such as the Mountain Buzzard and African Goshawk.

Lake Nakuru is among Kenya's finest national parks. Flanked by rocky escarpments, patches of acacia forest and at least one waterfall, the park is often described as an ornithologist’s paradise. It was once christened the ‘Pink Lake’, due to the over 1 Million Lesser flamingos that resided on the shores of the shallow, alkaline lake. But the rising water levels in 2014 forced the flamingos to flee (although they are slowly returning). Hundreds of other water birds, including pelicans, marabou storks, seagulls, avocets, plovers and stilts can also be found at the lake itself, while the acacia trees and rocky cliffs of the park house Verreaux’s eagles, splendid fish eagles, vultures and wood hoopoes. The parklands are filled with numerous buffaloes, waterbuck, gazelles and impalas, while the majestic and rare Rothschild giraffes roam the riverine forest of acacias, occasionally walking across the open plains. Lions, leopards, hyenas and jackals are commonly sighted, as are the black and white rhinos, who have found refuge in Kenya’s prime rhino sanctuary.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) covers some 1,510 km2 (583 sq mi) in south-western Kenya. It is the northern-most section of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, which covers some 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) in Tanzania and Kenya. It is bounded by the Serengeti Park to the south, the Siria escarpment to the west, and Maasai pastoral ranches to the north, east and west. Rainfall in the ecosystem increases markedly along a southeast–northwest gradient, varies in space and time, and is markedly bimodal. The Sand, Talek River and Mara River are the major rivers draining the reserve. Shrubs and trees fringe most drainage lines and cover hillslopes and hilltops. The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland with seasonal riverlets. In the south-east region are clumps of the distinctive acacia tree. The western border is the Esoit (Siria) Escarpment of the East African Rift. MASAI MARA RESERVE AND MARA TRIANGLE The reserve covers 583 square miles (1510 square kilometres) of outstanding wilderness in South West Kenya. With one of the highest diversity of species, and concentrations of animals, the acacia-dotted plains of the Mara offer wonderful scenery and a spectacular abundance of wildlife. Elephants, buffalo, wildebeest, topi, giraffes, hartebeest, serval cats, bat eared foxes; regal black- maned lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas and jackals; monkeys and baboons, vultures, secretary birds, saddle bill storks, hundreds of migratory birds; countless pods of hippos around every bend of the Mara River, carefully watched by the other denizens of the rivers in the Masai Mara - the crocodiles, infamous for their spectacular role in the “Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth”- the annual wildebeest migration between the Serengeti and the Masai Mara, in which millions of wildebeest, zebra and topis brave the river, and the predators encountered daily, in their continuous annual treks in search of water and grazing, coming up to the Mara from Serengeti in the neighbouring Tanzania. The Mara Triangle lies in the western sector of Masai Mara where the Mara River forms a natural boundary line that embraces one-third of the Mara Reserve. Most of the Mara Triangle is part of the main reserve and is not a private conservancy. In addition to the dividing river, the area of the Mara Triangle is also defined by the Oloololo Escarpment (Siria). The area covers 510 sq. Km and is managed by a non-profit organisation – Mara Conservancy. Due to its superb location, animals wander freely between the neighbouring wildernesses; however, the river acts a natural fence that keeps most of the wildlife in the triangle. This outback also boasts an incredible, diverse landscape that includes rivers, streams, swamps, plains, volcanic features and much more. Being the entry and exit point for the Migration, it is the most strategic locations to game drive in Masai Mara especially during the migration season.

The migrators of Masai Mara National Reserve are present from approximately late June – early August until end of October – early November. But the Mara offers year-round game viewing. The reserve and surrounding conservancies offer diverse resident species experiences. Frequently to be seen are impalas, topis, giraffes, elephants, zebras, buffalos, warthogs and other grazing herbivores. With so many prey animals, Masai Mara is a veritable bonanza for large predators, such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, crocodiles and other stealthy, powerful hunters. The abundance of terrestrial animals is enhanced by the presence of more than 450-winged species, including 57 birds of prey. Masai Mara Game Reserve offers varied tour activities to explore the plains landscape and see incredible animal behaviours. The adjoining conservancies offer distinct activities that are not allowed in the reserve. Game drives in the reserve are perfect for those who seek to be immersed in Kenya’s bush country and see larger animals. For guests interested in observing the nocturnal animals, these are available in the form of night game drives in some of adjoining private conservancies. The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is recognized for an enormous diversity of flora and fauna, and some small details are missed during game drives. Most conservancies offer bush walks for an intimate look at the micro-ecosystems of the area. To complement these walks or a general visit to the Mara, a balloon safari experience, for a bird’s-eye view of the area, is a memorable experience. Lastly, the Maasai community is key to the advancement of wildlife management in the area. It is hence recommended for one to take time learning more about these noble people by visiting one of their villages for a life-changing cultural experience in understanding their modest and simple lives.