East Africa is a natural destination to consider for an ecotourism vacation, with its unique geographical terrain, amazing wildlife, and spectacular scenery. Let’s take a look at some of the main countries in East Africa and their ecotourism qualities.

Ecotourism helps to conserve natural resources and endangered species, in part by providing incentives for the local community to become involved in the process. It also creates a sustainable tourism market, which in turn promotes a sense of self-reliance for locals.

Take Samburu where a wide variety of animal and bird life to be viewed. All three big cats, Masai lion, Tanzanian cheetah, and leopard can also be found here, as well as elephants, buffalo, and hippos. Unfortunately, rhinos are no longer present in the park due to heavy poaching. The Samburu National Reserve is a paradise for bird lovers, with over 350 species of birds already recorded.

The neighboring communities to the reserve are the Samburu tribe, a clan of the Maasai. They play a major role as part of the tourist attractions of the area, due to their traditional ceremonies, food, dances, and sale of traditional crafts. You have the opportunity to interact with these colorful people and experience their culture.

There are lodges in Samburu that practice a form of tourism that promotes social and economic cooperation to improve lives and preserve wildlife. One lodge supports initiatives which involve students from local primary schools, where the children are taken for game drives aimed at mentoring wildlife conservation. Local women are also involved through the Women Safari Project for conservation sensitization purposes.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Serengeti is known for its abundance of wildlife, including the “Big Five” (African elephant, lion, Cape buffalo, rhino, and leopard) as well as cheetahs, gazelles, giraffes, and zebras among others. The Serengeti is most famous for the Great Migration, a natural phenomenon that sees approximately 1,300,000 wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson’s gazelles, 200,000 zebras, 97,000 topi, and 18,000 elands migrate north to Kenya each July. By October, the animals move south arriving back in the Serengeti in December. Even when the migration is quiet, Serengeti National Park provides excellent game viewing, making it the flagship of Tanzania’s tourism industry.

With the development of activities like gorilla trekking safaris, Chimpanzee tracking, Birding, Forest, nature walks, cultural trails etc. Rwanda and Uganda have taken significant steps in what scholars may regard as a shift from the traditional tourism to responsible travel to ecologically sensitive areas.

The liveliest example of an ecotourism initiative in Rwanda and Uganda are Iby'Iwacu cultural village, Azizi life experience, KAFRED (Kibale Association for Rural and Economic Development) respectively. The Community Based Organizations which are entirely managed and run by the local community. It was initiated with the main theme of protecting Bigodi wetland (adjacent to Kibale Forest National Park) while advancing health, education and economic growth in the wider local community. 100% of employees are from the community and the participatory planning of the organization includes members and representatives of homesteads neighboring the swamp.