Best Places to Visit in Africa in 2020

With its expansive landscapes and formidable animal life, Here is a list of the best place to visit in Africa in 2020.

The African continent enjoys a vast and ever-changing landscape from lusciously rich jungles through to the hot, arid desert.

If you are visiting anywhere in Africa or better yet travelling through, there are some breath-taking places you won’t want to miss out on.

Places to Visit in Africa

Here are the places to visit in Africa in 2020 when you travel:

1. Fish River Canyon, Namibia

After the Grand Canyon of America, the Namibian site of the Fish River Canyon is the most spectacular in the world.

With a 160km ravine which measures at about 27km wide and 550 metres deep in some places, the Fish River flows in the belly of this giant spectacle.

Here you’ll enjoy wide-open spaces that allow you to breathe the fresh air relaxed and take in the vast scenery.

2. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Essentially the Kenyan counterpart to the Serengeti, the smaller Maasai Mara is equally rewarding when it comes to game viewing.

Big cats are the star residents. Pride of up to 20 lions hog the spotlight, but it is also a perfect place to see cheetahs and leopards, along with elephants, buffalos, giraffes and rhinos.

The Masai Mara comes into its own over late July to early October, when hundreds of thousands of wildebeest arrive from the Serengeti to cross the Mara River, the most spectacular part of the annual migration.

  • When to visit Masai Mara: Game viewing is excellent throughout the year. Be there between late August and early October to be reasonably sure of catching the wildebeest migration. Any other time is preferable if low tourist volume is more relevant to you.

3. The Serengeti, Tanzania

Topping many safarigoers’ list of best places to visit in Africa, the Serengeti is Tanzania’s oldest and largest national park.

It is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site mainly on account of hosting the world’s most spectacular annual wildlife migration, comprising up to two million wildebeest, as well as tens of thousands of zebra.

The expansive plains host Africa’s largest lion population, estimated at 3,000 individuals. It is probably the most reliable place in East Africa for cheetah, while leopards are regularly observed in the central Seronera Valley.

Other common wildlife includes elephant, buffalo, giraffe, spotted hyena, bat-eared fox and a wide variety of antelope.

  • When to visit Serengeti: There’s no wrong time. June to October offers excellent general wildlife viewing and an opportunity to catch the wildebeest migration. The wildebeest calve from late January to February. Many repeat visitors favour April and May when the countryside is at its greenest, rack rates drop, and tourist volumes are lowest.

4. Table Mountain, South Africa

Table Mountain makes Cape Town, one of the world’s best beach cities, also one of the world’s most photogenic.

Cable car rides are available to the top of the mesa, giving great views, fantastic sunrises/sunsets, and a great photo. Challenge: Try to limit yourself to 50 pics.

5. Djemaa el Fna, Morocco

The world’s most exciting town square, Djemaa el Fna reminds you-you’re in Africa.
In the heart of the old city of Marrakech, snake-charmers, henna-painters, storytellers, date-sellers and orange juice vendors set up their stalls in the sleepy heat of the afternoon.
As night falls, the vendors are joined by tribal drummers, ladyboy dancers and mobile restaurateurs selling delicious grilled meats, bread, and salad as the smoke rises above their stalls ’til past midnight.

6. Sossusvlei Dunes, Namibia

In Namibia, you can climb some of the highest dunes in the world (or better yet, take a hot air balloon ride over them).

The scenery is dramatic and vaults Namibia into the discussion for one of the places to visit in Africa.

If you can afford the stopover, it’s worth doing a Living Desert Tour, a Ghost Town tour, and an overflight of the Skeleton Coast.” 

Best time to go: Namibia is a year-round destination, but remember that since it’s a desert environment, you can get a significant shift any day of the year, from very hot to very cold.  Pack both warm-weather and cool clothes. 

7. Okavango Delta, Botswana

Botswana is one of the best travel destinations in Africa to go to an excellent safari holiday.

Botswana has one of the most sought after wilderness destinations in the world.

In the Okavango Delta, you can experience the big game, lush vegetation and natural beauty at its best.

8. Diani Beach, Kenya

Located at a distance of one hour from Mombasa, the Diani Beach is not your average beach, with resorts and sports activities lining up at it.

This one is partially a zoo; hence, you are most likely to spot several colobus monkeys in the vicinity.

In addition to this, some camels also double up as your ride here.

A beautiful beach awaits as you make your array through dense vegetation.

9. Clifton Beaches, Cape Town Central, South Africa

So, if the Camp’s Bay Beach was not your scene, escape to the Clifton Beaches that serve the requirement of tranquillity!

Not just that, but the beaches promise optimum privacy. Thus you ought to spot several honeymooners here.

The beach also boasts of stunning rock formations all across it.

Owing to these factors, the Clifton Beaches are monikered as Cape Town’s St Tropez!

This is a group of four beaches, small but big on the impact, making it one of the best places to visit in Africa.

10. Mountain gorillas, Rwanda

A close encounter with the mountain gorillas of the Rwandan rainforest will stay with you for a lifetime.

Various operators run tours tracking silverbacks and their troupes in the dense forest.
At an elevation of more than 6,000 feet, the Nyungwe National Park is an isolated region.

It covers more than 386 square miles across southwest Rwanda. Tourists can meet a vast range of primates and also traverse East Africa’s highest canopy.

11. Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe

One of the world’s most majestic water spectacles, Victoria Falls (also called Mosi-oa-Tunya, or “The Cloud That Thunders) – were reportedly first seen by a European when Scotsman David Livingstone journeyed here in 1855. Since then thousands have enjoyed the spray from the 108-meter high cascade.

This was once recorded flowing at 12,800 cubic meters per second, double that of Niagara’s highest flow.

12. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

The most famous of the structures at Giza, near Cairo, the Pyramid of King Cheops was built around 2650 BC from 2.5 million blocks of limestone. Its sides are oriented precisely to the north, south, east and west.

The Chephren pyramid, built by Cheops’ son, is similar in size and incorporates the entrances to a burial chamber.

The chamber still contains the large granite sarcophagus of King Chephren. The pyramid of Mycerinus is smaller than both, and all three are surrounded by other smaller pyramids and dozens of tombs.

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Beth is a Kenyan Journalist with a passion in matters Kenya. She is knowledgable about the country of Kenya and shares her knowledge with our readers.

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