Welcome to East Africa
East Africa is the Africa of childhood imaginings,, a wild realm of extraordinary landscapes, peoples and wildlife in one of our planet's most beautiful corners.
Wild Animals
Welcome to the true home of the African safari. This is untamed Africa, where wildebeest, shadowed by zebras, stampede in their millions across the earth, where lions, leopards and cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs roam free in search of their next meal. Chimpanzees and the powerful yet silent silverback male gorillas and their families withdraw into remote islands of forests. Such stirring scenes of life and death, such overwhelming images of abundance co exist with evidence of surprising fragility. To draw near to this wildness is to experience something so profound that it will live forever in your memory.
Enthralling Landscapes
This is the land of the Masai Mara and the Serengeti, of an immense red sun setting behind a flat-topped acacia. Here on the African savannah, the world remains unspoiled by human presence. Nearby, rising from the Rift Valley floor are Mt Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Crater, the Crater Highlands, Mt Meru, Mt Kenya and the Rwenzoris. By climbing these peaks on foot and scaling the Rift, you add your own footprints to Africa’s marvellous human story and explore in ways unimaginable to those who never leave their vehicles.
Captivating Cultures
Wherever you go, don’t miss the chance to get to know East Africa’s people. Whether you’re exploring Maasai land accompanied by the aloof, dignified red-shawled Maasai warriors, or standing in solidarity with victims of genocide at the sobering Kigali Memorial Centre, or hunting with the ancient Hadzabe people of Lake Eyasi, there are countless opportunities to immerse yourself in the everyday beauty, realities and vibrancy of East African life. It is, after all, East Africans themselves, with their warmth, hospitality and unique way of looking at life, who are at the heart of the region’s legendary allure.
Beaches & Islands
In few places do fascinating human cultures come together quite so agreeably as they do along East Africa’s Indian Ocean coastline. Travel back in time to the days when this part of the world was at the centre of a far-flung trading network whose influences – African, Asian, Middle Eastern – continue to dance their way through modern Swahili culture. From Lamu to Zanzibar and just about everywhere in between, you can relax on white-sand beaches, dive amid colourful marine life or sail on a dhow (ancient Arabic sailing vessel). Some might call it paradise.
Why I Love East Africa
By Anthony Ham, Author
East Africa is where my love affair with Africa took hold and promised never to let go. Wildlife (big cats especially) and wilderness rank among the grand passions of my life and it was here that I saw my first lion on the march, my first cheetah on the hunt, my first leopard on a kill, where I came so close to elephants and black rhinos that I could have reached out and touched. And this is the home of Maasai friends who give me hope that the old ways can survive.
