East African Safaris in April – Low season safaris in East Africa – Top destination to explore off season
East African safaris in April – Every traveler loves an East African safari but to avoid rain-swept beaches and where you would do everything and go open savannahs for game viewing, you will need to be in the right place at the right time.
There is no single best time to visit East Africa but there are rainy and dry seasons that you need to know about before planning your East African Safari. Each has its advantages and each destination has its best moments, not least in the Masai Mara National Reserve or Serengeti National Park where the seasonally driven wildebeest migration takes place.
You can as well plan for an extension to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park for the Mountain Gorilla tracking and Kibale Forest National Park for Chimpanzee tracking.
If you have already decided when you are going on your East African safari, it’s now time to choose where to travel to if your dates are flexible, you can plan your safari better by understanding East Africa’s seasonal trends.
Where to go in East Africa during the low season?
- Southern and Central Serengeti
With the wildebeest herds forming huge, noisy columns in preparation for their trek, April, May, and June are the best months for game viewing in the southern and central Serengeti and the northern Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area.
- Ngorongoro Crater
Providing some of Africa’s best Big 5 game viewing, the Ngorongoro Crater is excellent year-round; the main factors for planning your trip here are weather and visitor numbers. From April to June the crater will be lush and green and you’ll have much of the place to yourself.
- Lake Nakuru National Park
In terms of birdlife, Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes are at their peak in January and February. Flamingos gather at Lake Nakuru in their hundreds of thousands and the pink mass they create is a pinch-me-I’m-dreaming spectacle.
- Mountain Gorilla Tracking
Mountain Gorilla tracking is done in Uganda and Rwanda: Gorilla treks are easier and the views better. Gorilla tracking is open all year round so you can visit at any time of your choice.
Don’t be put off by the long rains: safaris are still good in the Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and Masai Mara. It’s also less expensive and popular destinations are less crowded.
The long rains arrive and heavy showers can be expected for a few hours every day or so. Avoid the hot and humid East African coast at this time as well as Uganda and Rwanda – rain is torrential.
