See wild animals in the wild

Seeing wild animals in the wild means watching them where they live and move freely: lions in long grass, a gorilla family in the forest, a jaguar on a riverbank. Not behind glass and not in a show. It's often the moment people remember longest from a trip, and the places below give you real odds.

Where to do it

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Lions, cheetahs, elephants and the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra, which loops between the Serengeti and Kenya's Maasai Mara through the year. Calving fills the southern plains early in the year; the river crossings come later, in the north. Lodges and camps in Tanzania book up for the crossing months.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

A river that spreads into a maze of channels and islands in the Kalahari, listed by UNESCO in 2014. You glide between hippos and elephants in a mokoro, a dugout canoe, poled by a local guide. Botswana keeps visitor numbers low, so it's a splurge.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Home to mountain gorillas, which you track on foot through steep forest with rangers. Permits are limited and costly, the hike can take hours, and once you find the family you get one hour with them, a few meters away. Visitors with a cold or other illness can't go, because gorillas catch human diseases. It's the signature trip in Uganda.

Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Sea lions on the benches, iguanas on the rocks and boobies nesting beside the path, none of them much bothered by people. Visitor sites in the national park are seen with an authorized guide, and you keep at least 2 m from the animals. Visitors to this part of Ecuador cruise between islands on small boats or stay on an inhabited island such as Santa Cruz.

The Pantanal, Brazil

A vast wetland where jaguars hunt along the riverbanks, along with giant otters, caimans and hyacinth macaws. Boat trips from the end of the Transpantaneira road give a good chance of seeing a jaguar. In Brazil the dry season, in the second half of the year, is the time to go.

Ranthambore National Park, India

Tigers among the ruins of a fort and old stone walls. Jeep and open-truck safaris enter set zones and are booked online. The core zones of this park in India close in the monsoon months, so go between autumn and spring.

Lamar Valley, United States

In Yellowstone, this open valley is one of the likeliest places to see wolves, along with bison, elk and sometimes bears, at dawn and dusk. Locals bring spotting scopes and many will share a look. The United States park rule: at least 100 yards (91 m) from wolves and bears.

Kinabatangan River, Malaysia

Boat trips on this river in Sabah, on Borneo, look for proboscis monkeys, hornbills, crocodiles, and with luck wild orangutans and pygmy elephants. Lodges along the river in Malaysia run early-morning and evening cruises.

How to make it happen

• Go at dawn and dusk. Most animals are active in the cool hours; midday is for resting, theirs and yours.
• Hire good guides. A local guide's eyes find what you'd drive past, and in a national park they know the rules.
• Bring binoculars. They matter more than a big lens.
• Keep your distance. Follow each park's rule; never get between a mother and her young; stay in the vehicle where you're told to.
• Never feed or touch wild animals. It changes their behavior and can get them killed.
• Skip the selfie props. Places that let you ride elephants, cuddle cubs or hold wild animals for photos are not wildlife experiences, and welfare groups ask travelers to avoid them.
• Check health needs. Many safari areas carry malaria risk; see a travel clinic well before you go.