Get here if you can...

TARANGIRE, TANZANIA

This park in the north is overshadowed by its more famous neighbours, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, but elephants gather here in great numbers. It’s an easy hour’s trip on good roads from Arusha. tarangiretanzania.com

AMBOSELI, KENYA

The classic backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro makes Amboseli National Park quite possibly the best place in the world to see elephants. A good base is Satao Elerai Camp

(sataoelerai.com), just outside the park; it’s near a waterhole where elephants visit daily, and is locally owned and run. Another good choice is Tawi Lodge (tawilodge.com).

Staying on a private concession adjoining the park guarantees a wildlife experience away from the crowds. amboseli.com

SOUTH LUANGWA, ZAMBIA

There are not many natural barriers that keep elephants from where they want to be, and the shallow Luangwa River is certainly not one of them. At dawn and dusk, breeding herds cross the river from South Luangwa National Park to drink and browse on the opposite bank, in the community reserve outside the park .

There are several campsites and wellpriced lodges strung along this riverbank, with front-row seats to the ellie show. Pour a G&T, pull up a deck chair and wait – they’ll come right to you.

Experts have dubbed South Luangwa one of the greatest wildlife sanctuaries in the world, and for good reason. The concentration of animals around the river and its oxbow lagoons is among the most intense in Africa. southluangwa.com

Crowned by Mount Kilimanjaro across the border in Tanzania, Amboseli’s name comes from a Maasai word meaning ‘salty dust’ but the park actually has five different habitats.