The complete guide to the Great Rift Valley

By SARAH BARRELL

For all the snorting and braying, dust and heat, there is nothing like rush hour in the Serengeti. The Rift Valley's most spectacular natural performance has to be the annual migration, put on by a cast of over two million wildebeest and a quarter of a million zebra.

Not forgetting, of course, adherent predators such as hyena, jackal and the king of the jungle (or in this case, king of the plain) the lion.

Calving wildebeest amass on the grasslands of the southern Serengeti every November. They eventually make their way north across the Masai Mara in great queues, some six months later, in search of greener pastures, only to hot-hoof it back through the Serengeti in October.

Lying above the Rift Valley escarpment, the Serengeti has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa, and as such is one of the most coveted spots on the continent for safari. This is the place, if you are so inclined, to start ticking off the Big Five.

Yet one of the most impressive aspects about this part of the Rift is the density of all manner of indigenous mammals and birds, such as the elegant black-striped Thompson's gazelle, characteristic of the east-African plains, and the hefty bovine-like eland, the continent's largest antelope.

The cradle of mankind, the backbone of Africa, the Rift Valley is a 6,400km-long string of superlatives, running from the Dead Sea to Mozambique. A phrase David Attenborough has surely intoned more times than "watch out for that lion", the Great Rift Valley is synonymous with the Big Five but offers travellers far more than big-game safaris.

What is the Rift Valley?

The folding and faulting of the planet's crust, some 20 million years ago, resulted in a block shift and one of the most spectacular geological features on the face of the earth.

Variously referred to as the Eastern or Afro-Arabian Rift Valley, the Great Rift Valley extends its vast escarpments, cliffs, rivers and plains from Jordan in the Middle East, southward through Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi to tip out into the Zambezi river in Mozambique.

The valley averages some 48-60km wide but extends to 96km wide in some places, such as southern Kenya. Just across the border, in Tanzania, the Rift forks into two branches, the western branch forming the Tanzania-Congo border.

That's a lot of land covered. Not to mention water.

The western branch of the Rift takes in Lake Tanganyika, one of the largest lakes of the continent. Other bodies of water within the Great Rift Valley include the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), the Jordan river, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Aden.

Due to a poor drainage system on the valley floor, the Rift is characterised by a number of shallow soda lakes, favoured habitat of pink clouds of flamingos that like to feed off the sulphuric algae and crustaceans.

When should I go?

That depends on which part you want to see. The Rift winds its way through deserts such as the Danakil Depression, in Ethiopia (the lowest point on the planet) and reaches up to the snows of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa.

Along with these vast variations of altitude, the local weather systems of the countries ensure that when it comes to climate, the Rift is a year-round destination. Many travellers, however, visit the valley to coincide with the famous migrations of the Serengeti's wildebeest herds, for example, which creates something of a peak season in eastern Africa.

So this is prime safari country?

The Rift Valley is one of the few ecosystems that has remained unchanged for centuries. It provides a wildlife-rich course right through the middle of Kenya and Tanzania, eastern Africa's definitive safari spots.

Tanzania is said to be home to the largest concentration of mammals in the world. After the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania come a respective second and third for the largest concentration of bird species on the continent. More than a quarter of Tanzania alone is taken up with national parks, conservation areas and game reserves. So yes, this is prime safari country. The only problem you'll have is which one to choose.

A rather different idea, for those who don't fancy being cooped up in an air-conditioned tour bus, is a walking safari. Accompanied by a Masai guide and donkeys, this itinerary takes in the less-explored areas of the northern Serengeti and the foothills of Mount Makarot, with nights spent under canvas in permanent camps.

With the Rift escarpment as a backdrop, a walking safari in this area has to be one of the most rewarding ways to quietly stumble across grazing herds of wildebeest, giraffe and zebra.

But what if I'm not the adventurous type?

From basic tents to butler-served lodges, safari accommodation in east Africa is varied enough in style and standard to cater for those among us who don't quite cut the Finch-Hatton grade (the original Great White Hunter as depicted in Karen Blixen's novel Out Of Africa).

Following the Rift right to its southern tail, you come to the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, home to some of Africa's finest and most untrammelled game reserves. Luxury wildlife safaris are available, with accommodation in luxury, tented camps and lodges, from which daily jeep-based safaris are made.

And what if I don't want to go on safari?

Then how about a cycling tour from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar? Sixteen-day guided, vehicle-assisted tours make an ascent of Kilimanjaro by foot and bike before moving on to the mountainous terrain around Tanzania's Lake Manyara and pedalling up to cycle along the rich, red soil tracks of the Rift escarpment.

The trip culminates with a few days spent cycling along the east coast and relaxing on the beaches of Zanzibar.

Can I drive the length of the Rift Valley?

Africa is the continent that defined the overland trip. If you want to travel the length and breadth of the valley, there are numerous overland companies which offer trips from Addis Ababa to Nairobi (or vice versa), taking in, among other things, Ethiopia's little-visited Mago National Park, home to such distinctive tribes as the lip-plate-wearing Mursi, and staying with the Samburu Tribal Community Project in Kenya.

Can I take it from the top?

To view the Rift Valley from its northernmost tip, head for the Dana Nature Reserve, in Jordan. Located in Wadi Dana, 48km north of Petra, in a spectacular rocky canyon, Dana constitutes the second-largest nature reserve in the country and is one of the Middle East's first forays into the world of "ecotourism".

During the summer months, camping is possible in the sand dunes of the Wadi Araba (the Dead Sea valley). The park's landscape, with high, wooded hills, uncompromising gravel plains and formidable desert, is a suitably dramatic gateway to the Great Rift.

So it's not all large mammals, then?

Quite the contrary. Starting from the beginning (of mankind, that is), the Rift Valley can lay claim to being the site of the evolution and early history of humanity. In 1957, Mary Leakey, an archaeologist working in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, discovered a 1,7 million-year-old hominid skull, named "Nutcracker Man". It provided evidence that hominids began to evolve in the Rift Valley some three million years ago.

Further findings have been made throughout east Africa and the Rift Valley, including stellar sites such as the Awash River in Ethiopia. However, Olduvai, with its excellent archaeological museum, is probably the easiest excursion for those who want to wander from the well-beaten safari track, located as it is, just a few miles from the popular Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area .

Where is the valley at its most spectacular?

Most travellers are familiar with the views of the Rift Valley from the edges of the Serengeti, in Tanzania, where in fact the valley is less obvious because the eastern rim has been eroded.

However, Tanzania's characteristic wide open landscape affords uninterrupted views of the plains and misty escarpment, which in places appears to stretch on to the horizon and beyond, to eternity.

Just a little further north, in Kenya, elevations are higher, with sheer cliffs climbing several thousand feet, making the views jaw-dropping.

In southern Kenya, head for Lake Naivasha and the Hell's Gate National Park (one of the few you are allowed to explore on foot) for a binocular-boggling gorge flanked by sheer red cliffs and punctuated with hot springs.

Above Naivasha, the valley walls come to a 4,000m peak in the Aberdare mountains, home to bush cats, leopards and lions, all thriving in what is one of the country's only virgin forests.

The same tectonic movement that made the Rift Valley also created the 30 or so active and semi-active volcanoes found along its path, including the two highest mountains in Africa, Mount Kenya (5,338m) and Mount Kilimanjaro (5,898m).

Both of these are impressive and iconic African peaks, but in the hotly contested volcano stakes, nothing compares to Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, a perfectly preserved mountain with its top neatly blown off.

Ngorongoro represents the world's largest intact volcanic caldera and is also, with its thickly forested outer slopes and central crater lake, one of the most beautifully framed spots in which to view the best of the continent's big game. As such, it is one of east Africa's most popular spots for safari, and along with the Serengeti, is the staple destination on any Tanzania itinerary. Be prepared for herds of migrating tour buses.

What should I read?

The new edition of Bradt's East and Southern Africa Guide: The Backpacker's Manual covers a large area of the Rift Valley, while Lonely Planet's Trekking in East Africa is good for serious hikers and independent travellers alike.

Footprint's East Africa Handbook is an excellent general guide to the bulk of countries touched by the Rift. For those who want to tread lightly on the earth, try Tourism Concern's Community Tourism Guide, by Mark Mann (Earthscan), which lists operators offering ecologically sensitive safaris and tours.

- INDEPENDENT