DESTINATIONS
Exploring Africa’s great wilderness
Known intimately, country by country.
ACROSS AFRICA
The places we return to.
Again and again.
Every destination North Node goes to has been chosen for what it gives, not what it's known for. From the vast plains of Kenya's Masai Mara and the gorilla trekking forests of Rwanda and Uganda, to the waterways of Botswana's Okavango Delta, the walking safari wildernesses of Zambia and the extraordinary wildlife of Tanzania's Serengeti. These are places we know intimately, from the inside. Places that have shaped what we believe a safari can offer. We return to them because they keep giving something back.
We are also always looking further. For the pockets that haven't made it onto anyone's itinerary yet. The camps being built on ground most operators haven't reached. The new routes, the overlooked regions, the places our team has spent years chasing before the crowds find them. Some of the best safari experiences we know exist on parts of the map that still have room on them. We intend to keep it that way.
Kenya.
Kenya is where most people first imagine Africa and it delivers everything that imagination holds. The vast plains of the Masai Mara. The ancient nomadic cultures of the north. A coastline so unhurried it feels like another world entirely. But Kenya runs deeper than its reputation. The Great Rift Valley fractures the landscape with a geological drama that stops you mid-thought. The Central Highlands rise into forest and mist. The Northern Frontier stretches into distances that make ordinary life feel very far away.
North Node goes beyond the well-known parks and reserve - into the privately managed conservancies, the remote riverbeds, the owner-run camps that grow from the land itself and leave almost no trace on it. These are places where wildlife moves freely across unfenced land, where the relationship between communities and conservation runs deep, and where the density of other travellers drops to almost nothing. Low-density travel in landscape most people never get close to, this is the Kenya North Node knows and designs around.
It is also our base in East Africa. We know this country from the inside - its guides, its rhythms, its most remarkable corners. That knowledge runs through every Kenya journey North Node designs.
Tanzania.
Tanzania is one of Africa's great safari destinations and one of its most varied. The Northern Circuit alone holds landscapes that have defined the way the world imagines Africa: the Serengeti's open plains, the ancient bowl of the Ngorongoro Crater, the baobab-studded wilderness of Tarangire. This is where the Great Wildebeest Migration moves, close to two million animals crossing ancient ground on a schedule entirely their own.
But Tanzania runs deeper than the north. The Southern Circuit - Selous, Ruaha, Mahale - is wilder, less visited, and in many ways more remarkable for it. The distances between destinations are greater, the travel more adventurous, the sense of being somewhere genuinely remote more pronounced. These are places that suit the traveller who has been to Africa before and wants to go further into it.
And then there is the coast. Dar es Salaam and the Zanzibar archipelago carry centuries of Swahili, Arab and Portuguese history in their stone towns, their wooden dhows, their spice-scented streets. The Indian Ocean here is warm and unhurried. It is the perfect counterpoint to the intensity of the bush, and North Node designs journeys that hold both, moving between wilderness and coastline in a single, considered trip.
Uganda.
Uganda surprises people. Often measured against its East African neighbours, it is in fact a destination entirely its own, a country of forest, water and green light that has no real equivalent anywhere on the continent. The source of the White Nile rises here. The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest holds one of the last viable populations of mountain gorillas on earth. The Mountains of the Moon mark the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in a landscape so dramatic it barely seems real.
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi is Uganda's most sought-after experience and rightly so. To spend time with a mountain gorilla family in their forest habitat is among the most profound wildlife encounters Africa offers. North Node arranges permits, guides and everything around the experience so that when the moment comes, nothing else is in the way.
But Uganda rewards those who stay longer and go further. Lake Victoria, more like an inland sea than a lake, offers island hopping and extraordinary fishing. The rafting around Jinja on the upper Nile is among the best in the world. Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley, Queen Elizabeth National Park, each one a distinct and extraordinary wilderness. Uganda's lodges are mostly small, owner-run and deeply embedded in the landscapes they sit inside. The guiding is experienced and unhurried. The conservation thinking is among the most progressive in Africa. There is nothing quite like it. North Node has known this for years.
Zambia.
Zambia is one of Africa's best kept secrets - vast, remote, and largely untouched in a way that feels increasingly rare. Home to Victoria Falls, the great Luangwa wildernesses, the Lower Zambezi River basin and the ancient Kafue National Park, it is a country of extraordinary range - mountain, valley, escarpment, plain - and deeply defined seasons that shape every journey through it.
What Zambia does better than almost anywhere else is the walking safari. To move through the South Luangwa on foot is to experience Africa at its most immediate - every sound, every movement, every shift in the grass suddenly significant. Nothing about it can be rushed. It's the kind of walking that changes how you notice things, long after you've stopped moving.
Most of Zambia's finest properties are small, owner-run, and deliberately remote - fly-in destinations that sit inside vast, almost empty wilderness. The inaccessibility is part of the point. The fewer people around you, the more the country reveals. North Node designs Zambia journeys for those ready to go further - deeper into remote country, further from the ordinary, closer to something that has no name until you're inside it.
Rwanda.
Rwanda is small, beautiful and quietly extraordinary. Known as the Land of a Thousand Hills, its landscape rises from eastern plains and lakes through sweeping grasslands to a mountain range running north to south, lush, layered and unlike anywhere else in East Africa. It is a country that has been through the unimaginable and rebuilt itself with a determination and dignity that leaves visitors moved before they have even reached the forest.
The mountain gorilla is Rwanda's most famous resident, and coming face to face with one in the protected forests of the Parc National Des Volcans is unlike any other wildlife encounter Africa offers. Rwanda is one of only a handful of places on earth where mountain gorillas continue to thrive, and the permits that allow you into their habitat are strictly limited. North Node arranges everything - permits, guides, logistics - so that when the moment arrives, nothing else is in the way.
But Rwanda offers more than gorillas. The high-altitude montane jungle of Nyungwe Forest is exceptional primate country. Lake Kivu's shoreline holds some of the most beautiful lakeside towns in Africa. And Kigali, vibrant, safe, surprisingly cosmopolitan, is a capital city that rewards time spent in it. There's more to Rwanda than most people expect, and North Node designs journeys that go deep enough to find all of it.
Botswana.
Botswana has made a commitment to its wilderness that is unmatched anywhere in Africa. Eighty percent of the country given over to the Kalahari. An area the size of France dedicated to permanent wildlife reserves. Low-density, high-value tourism as national policy - fewer visitors, deeper experience, greater conservation impact. The result is some of the most pristine wildlife habitat left on earth.
The Okavango Delta is Botswana's crown, a vast inland river system that fans out across the Kalahari in a network of channels, islands and floodplains teeming with wildlife. Mokoro through papyrus. Boat along the Chobe River as elephants drink at the banks. Walk the Selinda Concession with a guide who knows every track and tree. The landscape shifts with the seasons - wet, dry, somewhere between, and each version of Botswana is extraordinary in its own way.
What distinguishes a North Node journey through Botswana is the pace of it. The mobile safari is especially well developed here, moving through the wilderness on foot, by horse or by water, covering ground slowly enough that the gap between observer and observed begins to close. You are not watching Africa. You are inside it. The camps are small, mostly seasonal, built lightly on the land. The guiding is among the finest on the continent.
Botswana rewards those who give it time. North Node knows exactly how to give it that.
FAQ’s
Getting your visa sorted is one of the first practical steps in planning your safari. Requirements vary by country and passport, and can change without much notice. The guide below covers the destinations North Node works with most - use it as a starting point, and always confirm current requirements through your government's official travel advisory.
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For most travellers, obtaining a visa for Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda or Zambia is straightforward - many nationalities can apply online in advance or on arrival. That said, requirements vary depending on your passport and can change, so we always recommend checking your government's travel advisory and the official immigration website for each country you are visiting well before departure. Our team is happy to point you in the right direction when we are planning your journey together.
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Requirements & Details
All foreign visitors (except EAC citizens) must obtain an ETA before arrival.
What You'll Need:
Valid passport (at least 6 months validity) • Selfie or passport-type photo • Contact information and email • Travel details (arrival/departure dates) • Accommodation booking confirmation • Airline booking confirmation • Credit/debit card for $30 USD payment
Important Notes: Apply at least 2 weeks before travel • Print the PDF or save in mobile app after approval • Present at departure and arrival •
Apply ONLY through official government website
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Requirements & Details
Visa available on arrival, but we recommend applying online in advance to avoid delays.
What You'll Need:
Valid passport (at least 6 months validity) • Yellow Fever certificate (REQUIRED if arriving from Kenya) • Return ticket • Proof of accommodation • $50 USD (cash only if paying on arrival)
Important Notes:
Yellow Fever card is mandatory when arriving from Kenya • Online application recommended for overland crossings • Bring exact cash amount for visa on arrival • Keep Yellow Fever certificate with passport at all times
Zanzibar - Mandatory Travel Insurance: All visitors to Zanzibar are REQUIRED to purchase Zanzibar travel insurance • Must be purchased before arrival at: https://inbound.visitzanzibar.go.tz/
This is a mandatory requirement enforced on arrival
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Requirements & Details
eVisa must be applied for in advance - no visas issued on arrival.
What You'll Need:
Valid passport (at least 6 months validity) • Recent passport photograph • Yellow Fever certificate • Proof of accommodation • Return/onward ticket • Credit card for payment
East Africa Tourist Visa Option: $100 USD for Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda • Valid for 90 days • Great value for multi-country safaris • Apply through any of the three countries' visa portals
Important Notes: Apply at least 2 weeks before travel • Print visa approval and carry with passport • Yellow Fever vaccination mandatory
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Requirements & Details
Visa available on arrival or apply online in advance.
What You'll Need:
Valid passport (at least 6 months validity) • Yellow Fever certificate (if arriving from risk area) • Return ticket • Proof of accommodation • $50 USD
East Africa Tourist Visa: $100 USD for Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda • Valid for 90 days across all three countries
Important Notes: Online application recommended but not required • Very efficient immigration process • Payment by cash or card at airport
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Requirements & Details
eVisa recommended but visa on arrival also available.
What You'll Need:
Valid passport (at least 6 months validity) • Recent passport photograph • Yellow Fever certificate (if arriving from risk area) • Proof of accommodation • Return/onward ticket • $50 USD
KAZA Univisa Option: $80 USD for Zambia and Zimbabwe • Perfect for Victoria Falls visits (border between countries) • Valid for 30 days with unlimited crossings • Available at Victoria Falls Airport or borders
Important Notes: Online application recommended for faster processing • Cash USD accepted on arrival (exact amount helpful) • Victoria Falls straddles Zambia-Zimbabwe border • KAZA Univisa great value for cross-border trips
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Requirements & Details
Many nationalities (including USA, UK, EU, Australia, Canada) can enter visa-free.
Visa-Free Entry: Valid passport (at least 6 months validity) • Blank visa pages • Proof of return/onward travel • Proof of sufficient funds • Free tourist entry stamp
Visa on Arrival (some nationalities):
$30-70 USD depending on nationality • Cash payment • Same documentation as above
Important Notes:
Chobe National Park is in northern Botswana • Often combined with Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe) • Yellow Fever certificate if arriving from risk area • Keep vaccination records with passport
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Visa requirements can change. Always verify with your country's government travel advisory.
Passport must be valid for at least 6 months (we recommend 9 months) from departure date.
Ensure at least TWO consecutive blank visa pages in your passport.
Yellow Fever vaccination may be required depending on your travel route.
ACCOMMODATION
Destination first.
The stay is the detail.
From intimate bush camps to private luxury lodges, every property in the North Node collection is chosen for what surrounds it and what it gives you access to - the location, the wildlife on its doorstep, the people who make the days feel the way they do. We visit before we recommend. That's the only way to know which one is right for you.
YOUR DESTINATION AWAITS
Have a destination in mind?
That’s where we start. Tell us more.