East Africa

East Africa is a region in Africa.

Regions

Countries and territories

East Africa regions

Burundi On the shores of Lake Tanganyika; largely deforested and has precious little to interest the visitor

Comoros Tiny Indian Ocean island group between Madagascar and Mozambique

Djibouti Small country across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen and largely Arabic in nature

Eritrea This relatively small nation has heavy Arab and African influences

Ethiopia Africa's second largest population; an old Christian country, home to castles, beautiful monasteries, and wonderful food

Kenya Known for its world-class safaris and beautiful beaches

Madagascar Expect the unexpected in the land of the lemurs and the so-called eighth continent

Mauritius Tropical Indian Ocean island

Mayotte

Reunion

Rwanda Gorillas in the mist

Seychelles A group of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar

Somalia One of the least visited nations on earth, it is by no coincidence that the nation is also wrought with political instability, civil war, and rampant kidnapping/abductions

Tanzania Mt. Kilimanjaro and major game parks

Uganda Wildlife abounds and this is the best place for treks into the Congolese jungle to visit the nearly extinct mountain gorillas

Other islands

• Europa Island

Cities

• Addis Ababa — the huge capital of Ethiopia and a major hub for NGOs and the African Union
• Antananarivo — also known as Tana, is the capital of Madagascar
• Dar es Salaam — Tanzania's hot and humid metropolis has little to keep the traveler there, but is a major transit point of the region
• Kampala — the bustling, friendly capital of Uganda
• Kigali — aside from the genocide memorials, there is little to interest the traveler in Rwanda's capital; this is a passing through city
• Lilongwe — the largest city in Malawi is remarkably green
• Mombasa — historic coastal Kenyan city thought to be more than 2,500 years old
• Nairobi — the capital of Kenya and the largest city in East Africa
• Port Louis - the capital of Mauritius

Other destinations

• Andringitra National Park — one of the most biodiverse areas of extraordinary Madagascar
• Aksum — the ancient capital of Ethiopia famous for its stelae and the ruins of various palaces
• Mount Kilimanjaro — Africa's highest mountain and a great trekking destination in Tanzania
• La Digue — the quietest, most picturesque and most exclusive Island in the Seychelles; home of L'Anse Source D'Argent, one of the world's top beaches
• Nyika National Park — large highland national park in Malawi
• Rwenzori National Park — home of the almost mythical, otherworldly scenery of the Mountains of the Moon in Uganda
• Serengeti National Park — huge national park in Tanzania, perhaps the archetypal African game park; becomes the Masai Mara National Park over the border in Kenya
• Simien National Park — stunning mountain scenery and important wildflife populations in Ethiopia
• Volcanoes National Park — in Rwanda is full of impressive rainforest and volcanic scenery of the Virunga Mountains, and is perhaps the best place in the world to see rare mountain gorillas. Also crosses into Uganda where it is known as Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Talk

English is understood throughout some of the East Africa region.

Swahili is understood and spoken by a large number of people, especially Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, where it is an official language.

Get out

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