There are many excellent malaria-free safari destinations in Africa, particularly in Southern Africa
Malaria exists throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. So naturally, visitors have valid concerns around this issue. But please know that there are large regions of Africa that are totally malaria-free. And there are still more regions where the risk of contracting the disease is very low, or only really seasonal.
Most notably, the southermost portion of Southern Africa as well as its deserts don’t have any malaria. South Africa and Namibia are the two countries with the most malaria-free wildlife reserves. There are also pockets of East Africa where you can go on safari without worrying about malaria.
Let’s discuss the two regions one at a time, looking at the top destinations in each where you can enjoy big-game safaris without any worries about malaria.
Countries in Southern Africa with malaria-free regions
No Southern African country besides Lesotho is completely malaria-free. That said, the countries that have large regions (and exciting game parks) with no malaria are South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.
Top malaria-free wildlife reserves in South Africa
Almost all of South Africa is malaria-free all year round. This makes it one of the best two countries for malaria-free safaris as you can visit more than one park and see varied wildlife.
Three of the best wildlife reserves for seeing plentiful large game, often in incredibly beautiful or dramatic environments, are:
- Addo Elephant National Park. Located on the south coast, this park is famous for its enormous elephant herds but also hosts a range of other savannah animals as well as marine species like African penguins.
- Pilanesberg National Park. Set in an extinct volcanic crater northwest of Johannesburg, it protects a great range of wildlife, including the Big Five, as it sits in the ecological transition zone between the Kalahari Desert and the lowveld.
- Marakele National Park. Not far away is Marakele, a picturesque reserve within the Waterberg Mountains. Also a Big Five reserve, you can find nearly 100 mammal species here. The park is also home to around 800 breeding pairs of Cape vultures, which is the largest colony in the world.
- Madikwe Game Reserve. The fifth largest reserve in the country, Madikwe is arguably South Africa’s top private game reserve with no malaria risk. It’s home to the Big Five as well as endangered painted wolves (African wild dogs).
I must mention South Africa’s flagship reserve, Kruger National Park, as it’s a world-class safari destinations. The Kruger sits in the northeast of the country, where malaria does exist. That said, there’s a pretty low risk of contracting it in winter (June to October), as the mosquitoes go into a dormant state similar to hibernation. Some people therefore feel comfortable visiting the Kruger in winter without taking preventative measures like prophylactics.
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Top malaria-free wildlife reserves in Namibia
The southern half of Namibia is malaria-free all year round, as is its entire coastal belt, as these regions are covered in desert or semi-desert environments.
These are the top two safari destinations in Namibia where you can put malaria completely out of mind:
- Namib-Naukluft National Park. This is one of Africa’s largest reserves, and covers the towering sand dunes of the Namib Desert as well as grasslands and craggy mountains where a range of hardy wildlife can be found, including rare Hartmann’s mountain zebras, springboks, hyenas, and meerkats.
- Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier National Park. Found in the south of the country and shared with South Africa, this isolated mountain desert landscape includes the spectacular Fish River Canyon. Incredibly, 54 mammal species have figured out how to exist here, including leopards, jackals, hyenas, foxes, and grey rheboks.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Etosha Pan National Park in the north of the country, which is arguably the country’s top safari destination, has a very low malaria risk in winter. So similarly to Kruger in South Africa, some tourists feel comfortable visiting in winter without taking prophylactics – they just take ordinary precautions like using anti-insect spray. Etosha is where you can find many of the ‘regular’ safari animals, like elephants, lions, buffaloes, zebras, and giraffes.
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Top malaria-free wildlife reserves in Botswana
Botswana has various wonderful wildlife parks where the malaria risk is nominal in winter. But when it comes to always being malaria-free, its premier destination is the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
Located in the south of the country, this Kalahari Desert park is shared with South Africa. It’s a wonderfully remote and quiet reserve where you can spot various hardy, desert-adapted wildlife like black-maned Kalahari lions, cheetahs, and oryxes.
I must also say that Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in central Botswana presents a very low malaria risk in winter, when the salt pans have dried up, creating an arid climate. The wildlife here includes large zebra and wildebeest herds as well as many predators like lions, cheetahs, and hyenas.
Countries in East Africa with malaria-free regions
Malaria exists across East Africa, so it’s better to go on safari in Southern Africa if you have small kids or don’t want to fuss with preventative measures.
That said, know that there are many high-altitude or mountain wildlife reserves across East Africa where the risk of malaria is very low, especially in their upper elevations. The primary reason for this is that malaria-carrying mosquitoes cannot tolerate the colder temperatures associated with high altitude. But the issue with most of these game reserves is that you’d need to travel through malarial regions to reach them, so the advantages are basically lost.
That said, know that Nairobi National Park, which sits on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital city at around 1,700 m (5,500 ft), has a nominal malaria risk. So you might consider doing a fly-in-and-fly-out Nairobi-based safari and feel safe enough to waive any preventative measures against malaria.
The only East African country where you could enjoy a proper safari holiday without worrying about malaria is Ethiopia, provided you stick to the highlands.
Top malaria-free wildlife reserves in Ethiopia
While it receives relatively few tourists compared with other East African safari destinations, the Ethiopian Highlands hosts many fascinating endemic wildlife species that many have never heard of but make for incredibly rewarding safaris. What’s more, the dramatic mountain landscapes are destinations in their own right.
The two most notable malaria-free safari destinations that are in Ethiopia are:
- Simien Mountains National Park. Located in northern Ethiopia, this beautiful massif is home to Africa’s most endangered carnivore, the Ethiopian wolf, as well as the endangered walia ibex (a large mountain goat with marvellous backward-curved horns), and the gelada (or ‘bleeding-heart monkey’).
- Bale Mountains National Park. Found in southeast Ethiopia, the beautiful habitats of this park, which include misty escarpment forests, boast one of Africa’s highest levels of wildlife endemism. These include the Ethiopian wolf, mountain nyala, and Bale Mountains vervet.
Plan a malaria-free safari in Africa
If you’d like to arrange a malaria-free safari, know that African Overland Tours offers wonderful and affordable overlanding trips in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana that include visiting most of the game parks discussed above. Browse their South African itineraries to see if any take your fancy.
Note: This blog post was created in 2016 by Sarah Duff. It was completely rewritten in 2026 by Megan Abigail White.
