Safaris

Best Safari Destinations Outside Africa (Lesser-Known Wildlife)

World-class wildlife safari experiences beyond the African savanna — from Galápagos to the Indian subcontinent to Patagonia.

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01
Sri Lanka Safari (Yala and Udawalawe)

Sri Lanka Safari (Yala and Udawalawe)

Sri Lanka has the world's highest density of leopards per square kilometre in Yala National Park, alongside enormous elephant herds at Udawalawe — a staggeringly underrated Asian wildlife destination.

Steady·Score +16
02
C

Churchill, Manitoba, Canada (Polar Bear Safari)

Churchill is the polar bear capital of the world — every October and November, polar bears gather on Hudson Bay awaiting freeze-up, making this remote Canadian town the best place on Earth to see them.

Steady·Score +16
03
Patagonia, Argentina (Wildlife Watching)

Patagonia, Argentina (Wildlife Watching)

Valdés Peninsula in Argentine Patagonia shelters southern right whales, orca hunting sea lions on beaches, Magellanic penguin colonies, and guanaco herds in a UNESCO biosphere reserve of extraordinary diversity.

Steady·Score +14
04
Norwegian Fjords Orca Safari (Winter)

Norwegian Fjords Orca Safari (Winter)

Tysfjord and Skjervøy in northern Norway attract humpback and orca pods each winter following herring migrations — snorkeling with orca in pitch-dark Arctic water is among Earth's most extreme wildlife encounters.

Steady·Score +12
05
Borneo Rainforest (Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys)

Borneo Rainforest (Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys)

Borneo's Kinabatangan River offers boat safaris past proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, and wild orangutans in a biodiversity hotspot of irreplaceable Southeast Asian rainforest.

Steady·Score +9
06
Bialowieza Forest, Poland/Belarus (European Bison)

Bialowieza Forest, Poland/Belarus (European Bison)

Europe's last primeval forest shelters the largest population of European bison (żubr) — the continent's largest land mammal. Winter tracking safaris through ancient old-growth forest are extraordinary.

Steady·Score +9
07
Yellowstone National Park, USA (Wolf + Bison)

Yellowstone National Park, USA (Wolf + Bison)

America's premier wildlife safari destination — the reintroduced wolf packs of the Lamar Valley, thermal bison herds, grizzly bears fishing for cutthroat trout, and great grey owls make Yellowstone a true wilderness safari.

Steady·Score +7
08
Pantanal, Brazil (Jaguar Safari)

Pantanal, Brazil (Jaguar Safari)

The world's largest tropical wetland offers the highest jaguar sighting rates on Earth — far superior to Amazon trips — plus giant otters, capybaras, and hyacinth macaws in an accessible wetland ecosystem.

Steady·Score +7
09
Ranthambore National Park, India (Tiger Safari)

Ranthambore National Park, India (Tiger Safari)

India's finest tiger reserve in Rajasthan — Bengal tigers regularly spotted in the dramatic ruins of Ranthambore Fort create the most cinematic wildlife encounters on the Indian subcontinent.

Steady·Score +4
10
Jim Corbett National Park, India

Jim Corbett National Park, India

India's oldest national park and the birthplace of Project Tiger — Jim Corbett's dense sal forests shelter over 250 Bengal tigers, plus leopards, elephants, and 600+ bird species in the Himalayan foothills.

Steady·Score +3
11
Kaziranga National Park, India (One-Horned Rhino)

Kaziranga National Park, India (One-Horned Rhino)

Home to the world's largest concentration of one-horned rhinoceroses — Kaziranga's elephant-back safaris through tall elephant grass offer close encounters with 2,600+ rhinos plus tigers, elephants, and wild buffalo.

Steady·Score +3
12
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

The ultimate non-African wildlife experience — fearless iguanas, giant tortoises, sea lions, and blue-footed boobies that never learned to fear humans create intimate encounters found nowhere else on Earth.

Steady·Score +2
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Sri Lanka Safari (Yala and Udawalawe)

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