Kenya

With 52 national parks and wildlife preserves, Kenya is a popular destination for ecotourists. Following are some highlights to help you plan your own safari. Start your journey in the capital city of Nairobi and drive to Amboseli National Park at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro where you will see elephants, lions, leopards, buffalos and rhinos. Help restore Amboseli's vegetation cover by planting trees. Nearby is Tsavo, Kenya's largest national park, which is famous for its elephant herds. Stay in a lodge near a watering hole or camp out in a tent closer to the herds. Drive through tea country to the Kiambethu Tea Farm, where you will learn about tea harvesting and processing. Take a nature walk, camel ride or horseback ride through the nearby Ol Pejeta Game Reserve and see the black rhino and chimpanzee sanctuaries.

In the center of the country is the Samburu Nature Reserve. En route, visit a women's project where local artisans weave carpets, sweaters and shawls on a traditional loom. Also look out for Samburu warriors and women adorned with colorful necklaces. The reserve is home to the common species, as well as reticulated giraffes, gerenuk, dik-duks and oryx. Head through the Great Rift Valley (stretches from Mozambique to the Jordan River), stopping at Lake Baringo and Lake Magadi for some prime bird watching. Kenya boasts over 1000 bird species in different habitats. Be sure to check out the flamingos at Lake Nakuru.

One hundred miles west of Nairobi is Masai Mara, the park with the best game viewing. During the summer, zebras and wildebeests migrate north across the Serengeti into Masai Mara. On your game drive, keep an eye open for lions, hippos, elephants, impalas, cheetahs, gazelles and hyenas. Afterwards, take a hot air balloon ride and see the migrating herds from above. Visit a Masai village and learn about the Masai tribe. Take a nature walk in the forest around Kichwa Tembo. Return to Nairobi for some last minute shopping at the City Market where you will find baskets, beads, fabrics, wood carvings and precious stones. If you don't want to travel on your own, contact Kenya Association of Tour Operators. For information on the effects of tourism on the environment in Kenya, click here

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Located 430 kilometers off the southest coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is known for its unusual flora and fauna. Your adventure starts in the capital city of Antananarivo, which is built on a Y-shaped mountain and surrounded by rice fields. The city is divided by narrow alleys and stairs. One 600-foot stairway is called Tsiafakantitra, or "Old folks can't make it." Get a map from the topographic map service in Ambanidia, visit the zoo in Tsimbazaza and shop in the Zoma the largest open air market in the world. The former royal capital of Ambohimanga ("Blue Hill") lies 14 miles north of Antananarivo. Nearby is a 45,400-acre national park with crater lakes and water falls. Visit the jungle town of Andasibe and the hot springs in Antsirabe.

Camp out in Isalo National Park in the southwest of the country. There you will see 203,900 acres of canyons, cliffs, gorges and other geological features created by wind and rain erosion in addition to native palm trees, giant cactus and harmless reptiles. Visit the forest station and flora laboratory at Ivoloina, 7 miles north of the island's largest port. Take advantage of Madagascar's coastline to scuba or snorkel at the Toliary coral reef.

Malagasy flora includes 12,000 species of flowering plants 85 percent of which are confined to Madagascar. Some of the more unusual species are the baobab (the island has seven varieties while continental Africa only has one) and wild coffees that contain only traces of caffeine. Madagascar also has medicinal plants and more than a thousand species of orchids. As for fauna, the island is known for colorful Malagasy Lepidoptera (butterflies) and Malagasy Chamaeleontidae (chameleons). The most unique mammal species is the lemur. There are five families, including the ringtailed lemur which is only found on the islands of Madagascar and Comoros. Volunteer for the Black Lemur Forest Project and study the effects of deforestation and tourism on the black lemur species. Project staff will greet you at the Nosy Be airport, and drive you to the project base at the Lokobe Reserve. After an brief introduction, team members take a 20-minute boat ride to Nosy Komba. Accomodations are in a small hotel or tents in Ampangorina village. Don't be surprised if black lemurs come right up to you. Staff members prepare traditional Malagasy meals based on rice and fresh fish from the Indian Ocean. For more information on ecotourism in Madagascar, contact the Embassy of Madagascar or check out http://www.duke.edu/web/primate/ecotours.html. For information on deforestation in Madagascar, visit Madagascar and Deforestation.

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Ethiopia

How about a white water rafting adventure down Ethiopia's Omo River? Drive from capital city Addas Ababa to the starting point near Albelti. Winding through a 5,000 canyon, the upper portion of the river is spotted with challenging rapids, unique rock formations and waterfalls. Stop for a hike to a local village or else keep your eyes open for antelope, baboons and lions roaming the plush, green forest along the shore. Continue on past the Bele Bridge to the lower portion of the Omo. Witness the ecosystem evolve into slower water and open landscape as you drift into hippo country. During the final stretch of the course, you enter the region inhabited by the Kwegu, Bodi and Mursi tribes. These river peoples wear elaborate head decorations, clay lip plates, earplugs and beaded skirts. Mountain Travel Sobek provides guides that speak the local language so you can understand village stories and barter for crafts. Otherwise you can try your hand at sign language. After your river odyssey ends, visit the hot springs at Awash National Park, the 4620-meter Mount Ras Dashen or the great geyser and lakes in the Rift Valley. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile which flows to the Sudan. Check out the Blue Nile Falls (Tissisat Falls) at Bahar Dar, and the monasteries and churches on the islands of Lake Tana.

Southern Ethiopia is a fertile area where farmers grow coffee, bananas and potatoes. According to legend, coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian shepherd who noticed that his animals were more alert than usual after grazing. Ethiopian merchants introduced the product to much of the Arab world through trade. Take a tour of a coffee mill and also see how the locals roast green beans in a tin can. Visit the Addis Ababa coffee auction, held daily during the busy season, where over a 100 varieties of coffee are traded. If coffee is not your cup of tea, visit a Chai Baat (House of Tea) where the proprietor is sure to froth your drink with lots of sugar.

Northern Ethiopia has its own treasures: obelisks marking the former palace of Queen Sheba in Axum, churches in Lalibela and castles in Gondar. Addis Ababa, in the center of the country, is the third highest capital in the world at 2,300 meters (about 7,800 feet). Your trip will not be complete without some Ethiopian culture. Try shaking your body in traditional dance, tear off a chunk of enjera bread to soak up a native stew dish and maybe even learn a few words of Amharic.

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Israel

Although the cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are must-sees, Israel offers diverse landscapes and activities that appeal to the ecotourist. Start your tour in the north at Kiryat Shemona, a city in the Upper Galilee that is easily accessible by bus. Take a cab or short hike to Maim Baruch, a campsite 10-km south of the Lebanese border. Arriving at night, you may not notice the wildlife prancing about but you surely won't miss the blanket of stars overhead. In the morning, follow the stream of other campers as they head to the nearby kiosk to rent kayaks or inner tubes at the edge of the Jordan River. Don't be disappointed by the width of the Jordan; if there was a wet winter (and consequently a lot of snowmelt from the Golan Heights) you will encounter plenty of white water. The 4-km ride lasts about two hours and a van drives you and your equipment back to the campsite. Just south of Kiryat Shemona are two nature reserves. The 775-acre Hula Nature Reserve has cypress groves and exotic wildlife, such as razorbacks and mongeese. The Horshat Tal Nature Reserve boasts huge oak trees, some of which are 2,000 years old. Stop at one of the Druze Villages in the Galilee to purchase woven rugs, ceramic plates and woodcarved sheshbesh (backgammon) boards.

Heading south along the Jordanian border brings you to the shores of Lake Kinneret. You can tour the main city of Tiberias along the western shore in half a day but afterwards rent a bike from Hostel Aviv and travel the circumference of the lake. Although the whole ride can be done in four hours, take your time and stop at the Mount of Beatitudes, Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes and Israel's first kibbutz, Degania Aleph. Another way to see the area is on horseback. Vered HaGalil offers half-day and full-day rides. Kibbutz Ein Gedi on the eastern shore arranges rock rappelling, desert hikes and camel safaris. If you don't want to stay in Tiberias, camp out at one of the campsites surrounding the lake. Just south of city center are the Tiberias hot springs. Also nearby are the hot baths and alligator park at Hammat Gader.

From the Kinneret, continue due south along the Jordanian border to the Dead Sea. Slap on some mud (a natural exfoliant) and enter the saltiest body of water on earth. Buy some Dead Sea soap products on your way out and support the local industry. Next you pass through the Negev Desert. Stop at the Beduin Market in Beersheva and see nomads migrate from their tent dwellings to the city center to sell sheep, clothese, jewelry and vegetables. About 30 minutes south of Beersheva is the Ben Gurion Institute for Desert Research, famous for its studies of desert food production, reforestation and solar energy. You may stay at the field school there or else try the accomodations at a commercialized Beduin tent, where you can ride camels, feast on a Beduin meal and learn some of their customs.

As you continue south toward Eilat, take notice of the wildlife preserve that spans the Israel-Jordan border to your left. In Eilat, swim with the dolphins in their natural habitat at Dolphin Reef Eilat and don your snorkeling gear to see the Red Sea clownfish and coral reefs. The International Birdwatching Center coordinates tours to see the migratory groups as they head north from Africa. Don't miss the laser light show at the ostrich farm. Also, take advantage of the hiking in the red Eilat mountains. The Society for Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) offers guided hiking expeditions and tours to offroad sites throughout the country. SPNI has marked all of the hiking trails so don't be afraid to pick up a trail map and do it on your own. Tie your garbage bags to a tree branch and park rangers will pick them up at the end of the day. As you head back to the center of the country, plant a tree in the Jewish National Fund forest outside Jerusalem and Dig for a Day with Archeological Seminars.

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