Selous Game Reserve

In Tanzania's far south-east, spread across the Coast and Lindi regions, the Selous Game Reserve remains one of Africa's last great wildernesses. Although much of the historic reserve became Nyerere National Park in 2019, what remains is still Tanzania's largest game reserve. Proclaimed as a protected area in 1896, formally established in 1922 and named after British explorer, hunter and conservationist Frederick Courteney Selous, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Miombo woodland stretches across the reserve, intersected by the Rufiji, Ulanga and Matandu rivers, whose lagoons and sandbanks draw elephant, buffalo, hippo and crocodile through the dry months. The wider Selous–Nyerere landscape also supports one of the continent's most significant populations of the endangered African wild dog. With photographic tourism concentrated along the river corridors, the reserve offers one of East Africa's most secluded safari experiences.