There's So Much More to East Africa Than Its Wildlife — Like an Active Volcano and a Collapsed Caldera With a Pearly Blue Lake

Kenya and Tanzania, the East African countries most often chosen for safari, are justifiably famous for their wildlife. For many travelers, seeing the region’s dazzling animals — lions, elephants, giraffes, and thousands of other species — is the whole point of going there.

But there’s another, equally spectacular side of East Africa that I always encourage safari-goers to seek out: its majestic landscapes. To me, the sweeping savannas, striking volcanic landforms, and towering peaks that characterize the Great Rift Valley are every bit as inspiring as their inhabitants. Here are some of my favorite vantage points. Here, four East African adventures that would make an incredible addition to any safari.

Ballooning in the Maasai Mara

Kenya’s most popular safari destination, the Maasai Mara National Reserve, comprises nearly 600 square miles of wide-open savanna — an ocean of gold grassland where thousands of animals forage, hunt, play, and rest. It’s beautiful to take in from your game drive-vehicle, but to fully grasp its expansive scale, you need an aerial view. A hot-air balloon ride over the Mara is breathtaking, especially at sunrise, when each zebra and giraffe casts a dramatic shadow far below. For a home base, I recommend the newly opened Wild Hill, an artfully designed private villa and wellness retreat perched atop the rocky slopes of Kileleoni Hill, the highest point in the reserve.

‘Flightseeing’ in the Serengeti

The enormity of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, which encompasses 5,700 square miles of savanna and riverine forest, is best appreciated from a helicopter. Several luxury safari camps offer flightseeing excursions, but my favorites are those run by Mwiba Lodge, set at the southern edge of the Serengeti. The lodge itself occupies a gorgeous spot overlooking the dramatic Arugusinyai River gorge. More breathtaking vistas reveal themselves once you take to the sky from its private helipad: the glittering Lake Eyasi, mobbed with flocks of bright-pink flamingos; a soaring, active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai; and the extraordinary Empakaai Crater, a collapsed caldera with a pearly blue alkaline lake.

Clifftop Walk the Ngorongoro Crater

Often called ”Africa’s Eden,” the Ngorongoro Crater is one of Tanzania’s most spectacular attractions. A colossal collapsed volcano, whose walls enclose a lush, 100-square-mile ecosystem, it has an extraordinary concentration of wildlife — as well as thick forests of fever trees, spring-fed wetlands, and wide-open grasslands. There are many ways to explore the crater, including game drives and charter flights. But Meliá Collection's Ngorongoro Lodge offers two experiences that I consider truly special: a clifftop rim-walking safari alongside Maasai tribesmen; and an opulent, four-bedroom Royal Suite, with a spacious, firelit deck that offers panoramic views over the crater.

Up and Down Mt. Kenya

It doesn’t get the hype of Kilimanjaro, but Africa’s second-highest mountain, the 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya, is astonishingly beautiful. It’s even better to explore the remarkably lush montane forests that carpet its lower slopes. A stay at the magnificent Ol Jogi Ranch lets you do this with immersive guided foot and horseback treks. While here, you can also visit the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy to see critically endangered mountain bongos, a species of notably striped endemic antelope. For sheer cinematic thrills, though, it’s hard to top a private plane ride over the mountain, whose high passes are girded with glaciers, and whose jagged apex is often dusted with snow.

Liz Wheeler is a member of Travel + Leisure’s A-List and specializes in East and Southern Africa safaris. You can create a tailor-made itinerary with Wheeler by contacting her at lwheeler@micato.com.

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