Top Africa Safari Destinations for Your to Do list.

Millions of people around the world travel to Africa every year most of them for business ,who at times kill two birds with one stone ,while the rest travel for pure tourism.
The scenic landscapes and the huge variety of wildlife are the main attractions.Tourism business is a huge contributor to the economies in some countries being the biggest source of foreign currency.
Below are some of the top destinations in Africa just in case you are planning for a safari.

The ‘Solio Ranch

White Rhino with a calf at Solio Ranch

Solio Ranch is a privately-owned wildlife conservancy geared towards rhino conservation and is one of the finest wildlife parks in Africa.

It was founded in 1970 when the owner of the Solio cattle ranch fenced off a large section of land and dedicated it to conservation.

From 1970 through to 2003, the world population of the African black rhinoceros declined from about 65,000 to an estimated 3,725. It was estimated that in Kenya, the population dropped from 18,000 to 1500 in 1980 and only 400 in 1990.

The park plays a major part in the protection and breeding of black rhinos in Kenya which has  been so successful , so much so that rhino from this conservancy is used to re- stock  game reserves all over Africa and is home to world’s largest population of white rhino and about a hundred black rhino.

It’s also a habitat to several other animals such as buffalo, zebra, giraffe, oryx, antelope, Thompson's gazelle, impala, waterbuck and warthog, lion, cheetah and offers some of the best viewing of leopard.

The Solio Reserve is also an ideal place for bird watching with  more than 300 species that are found in the  game reserve which include European rollers, flycatchers, and birds of prey such as vultures, eagle owls, Montagu's Harriers, long-crested eagles, crowned cranes  and buzzards

Table Mountain

A cable car at Table Mountains

A prominent  tourist   attraction  that consist of a flat topped mountain ( part of Table mountain national park) over looming  Cape town, South Africa. Visitors use the cableway or hiking to the top.

The main feature of Table Mountain is the level plateau approximately 3 kilometres  from side to side, edged by impressive cliffs. The plateau, flanked by Devil's Peak to the east and by Lion's Head to the west, forms a dramatic backdrop to Cape Town. This broad sweep of mountainous heights, together with Signal Hill, forms the natural amphitheatre of the City Bowl and Table Bay harbour. The highest point on Table Mountain is towards the eastern end of the plateau and is marked by Maclear's Beacon, a stone cairn built in 1865 by Sir Thomas Maclear for trigonometrical survey. It is 1,086 metres (3,563 ft) above sea level, and about 19 metres (62 ft) higher than the cable station at the western end of the plateau.

Legendary tale has it that the tablecloth of clouds that pours over the mountain when the southeaster blows is the result of a smoking contest between the devil and a retired sea captain called Jan van Hunks.

Mountain Gorilla

Mountain Gorilla

The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. There are two populations. One is found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, within three National Parks: Mgahinga, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and they are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.

The other is found in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where it is estimated that only a population of 880 live there.

The fur of the mountain gorilla, often thicker and longer than that of other gorilla species enables  them adapt to the very cold climate that they live in. Like humans and finger prints, Gorillas have unique way of identification where they are identified by nose prints unique to each individual.

Adult males have more pronounced bony crests on the top and back of their skulls, giving their heads a more conical shape which anchors the powerful temporalis muscles, which attach to the lower jaw. Adult females also have these crests, but they are less pronounced.

 Adult males are called silverbacks because a saddle of gray or silver-colored hair develops on their backs with age. The hair on their backs is shorter than on most other body parts, and their arm hair is especially long.

The midday rest period is an important time for establishing and reinforcing relationships within the group. Mutual grooming reinforces social bonds, and helps keep hair free from dirt and parasites. Females groom their offspring regularly. Young  gorillas play often and are more arboreal than the large adults.

Jemaa el-Fnaa

Is a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter (old city).

During the day it is predominantly occupied by orange juice stalls, water sellers with traditional leather water-bags and brass cups, youths with chained Barbary apes and snake charmers. The square becomes more crowded later in the day with chleuh  dancing boys, story tellers and peddlers of traditional medicine and more food stalls fill the place as darkness falls. Henna tattoo artists beckon passersby while water-sellers in fringed hats clang brass cups together, hoping to drive people to drink.

On other sides are hotels and gardens and cafe terraces, and narrow streets lead into the alleys of the medina quarter.

Unesco declared the Djemaa El Fna a 'Masterpiece of World Heritage' in 2001 for bringing urban legends and oral history to life nightly and although the storytellers who once performed here have since given way to acrobats, musical performers, and slapstick comedy acts, Djemaa's nightly carnival continues to dazzle. Berber musicians strike up the music and Gnaoua troupes sing while

This is a show you don't want to miss and it's a bargain too. 

 Lower Zambezi National Park

Elephants at Lower Zambezi 

It lies on the north bank of the Zambezi River in southeastern Zambia  and is one of the major tourist attraction places  in Zambia and was  declared a national park in 1983. Before then, the area was the private game reserve of Zambia's president.

On the opposite bank is Zimbabwe's Mana Pools National Park. The two parks sit on the Zambezi flood plain ringed by mountains. The area is a world heritage site.

The park gently slopes from the Zambezi Escarpment down to the river, straddling two main woodland savannah regions distinguished by the dominant types of tree, Miombo and Mopane: Southern Miombo woodlands on higher ground in the north, and Zambezian and Mopane woodlands on lower slopes in the south.

Due to poor access roads, tourists visit the park mainly on a boat on the Zambezi or by light aircraft flying from either Livingstone or Lusaka.

Large mammals including the Cape buffalo, a large elephant population, lion, leopard, many antelope species, crocodile and hippopotamus inhabit the park.Occasional sightings of the Cape wild dog occur throughout this park which is one of Zambia's best strongholds for them. There are also a large number of species of birds.

Victoria Falls

Voctoria Falls At the Zambia - Zibambwe Border

Is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The indigenous Tonga name is Mosi-oa-Tunya meaning "The Smoke That Thunders”.

In height and width Victoria Falls is rivaled only by Argentina and Brazil's Iguazu Falls.

There are no mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys but only a flat plateau extending hundreds of kilometers in all directions.

The falls are formed as the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop, 1708 meters wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau. The whole volume of the river pours into the Victoria Falls gorges from this narrow cleft.

The spray from the falls typically rises to a height of over 400 meters and sometimes even twice as high, and is visible from up to 48 km away. During the flood season, however, it is impossible to see the foot of the falls and most of its face, and the walks along the cliff opposite it are in a constant shower and shrouded in mist.

As the dry season takes effect, the islets on the crest become wider and more numerous, and in September to January up to half of the rocky face of the falls may become dry and the bottom of the First Gorge can be seen along most of its length.

First Gorge: the one the river falls into at Victoria Falls

Second Gorge: 2.15 km long, spanned by the Victoria Falls Bridge

Third Gorge: 1.95 km long containing the Victoria Falls Power Station

Fourth Gorge: 2.25 km long

Fifth Gorge: 3.2 km long 

The Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx

The Great Pyramid Of Giza

It is also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops and is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex.

Pharaoh Khufu began the first Giza pyramid project, circa 2550 B.C, his son ,Pharaoh Khafre, built the second pyramid at Giza, circa 2520 B.C. His necropolis also included the Sphinx, a mysterious limestone monument with the body of a lion and a pharaoh's head.

Sphinx

The third of the Giza Pyramids is considerably smaller than the first two. Built by Pharaoh Menkaure circa 2490 B.C., it featured a much more complex mortuary temple.

The main part of the Giza complex is a setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile), three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives.

Egypt's pharaohs expected to become gods in the afterlife. To prepare for the next world they erected temples to the gods and massive pyramid tombs for themselves—filled with all the things each ruler would need to guide and sustain himself in the next world.

All three of Giza's famed pyramids and their elaborate burial complexes were built during a frenetic period of construction, from roughly 2550 to 2490 B.C. The pyramids were built by Pharaohs Khufu (tallest), Khafre (background), and Menkaure (front).

The Giza Pyramids, built to endure an eternity, have done just that. The monumental tombs are relics of Egypt's Old Kingdom and were constructed some 4,500 years ago.

Masai Mara

Wildbeest & Zebra At Masai Mara

It is not only the most productive part of the entire Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in terms of grass nutrition with a scenic view of the steep-sided escarpment and broad Mara River, providing a breathtaking backdrop for wildlife photographers.

Covering over 500 square kilometres, the Mara Triangle includes seasonal marshes, open plains and gallery forest habitats, providing homes for a great diversity of mammals and birds.

South of the Kenyan border, Tanzania’s Serengeti consists of various types of woodland and grassland. It is on the ‘short-grass plains’ an area of shallow, volcanic soils west of Ngorongoro – that the wildebeest’s story begins. Here, they give birth to young calves every January and February. These plains flush green with highly nutritious grass after the rain, but are grazed flat and dry-out completely by March when the herds trek north. Their destination is the Maasai Mara, which is still blanketed with nutritious grass when the rest of the ecosystem has dried out.

The Maasai Mara National contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Mara Region, Tanzania.

It is globally famous for its exceptional population of lions, leopards and cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Mt. Kilimanjaro

It is the tallest and most recognizable mountain in Africa standing at 5,895 meters. While hiking, you go through different ecosystems from rainforest to alpine desert to arctic snowcap. The mountain is part of the Kilimanjaro National Park and is a major climbing destination. The mountain has been the subject of many scientific studies because of its shrinking glaciers and disappearing ice fields.

The world’s tallest freestanding mountain is on many people’s bucket list, but the relative ease of the climb means most routes are overcrowded.

You can hook up with the adventure travel company Intrepid, because it has a wide variety of dates for different climbs and a good track record for getting people to the top and it will take you five to nine days, depending on your route and how much time you want to take to acclimate to the altitude.

According to Tanzania National Parks, Kilimanjaro attracts 50,000 climbers a year, up 25% from 2008 and about 50 times the number attempting either Everest or Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) in Alaska.