Best Places in Africa to see Leopards

Is seeing leopards top of your wildlife list? Here's our guide to some of the best places in Africa to see them.

Richard
Richard
African Specalist
Published on
11 Feb 2026
Updated on
22 Sept 2026
Sunway  Botswana  Moremi  Np Leopard

Whilst lions tend to steal the headlines as the ultimate Big Five sighting, ask most safari-goers what they’re secretly hoping to see and leopards usually top the list. 

They simply don’t make it easy for you, though. Seeing a leopard is a truly magical experience, and one of those sightings that gets your heart rate going every single time, even if it’s the same leopard you’ve been watching for the past hour, or one that’s wandered past camp a few times that week. Somehow, the rush never wears off. There’s something about their quiet, watchful confidence, that sense that they were there long before you arrived and will still be there long after you’ve gone, that makes every glimpse feel like a small privilege rather than a given.

 

Tintswalo Leopard Copy
Watch a leopard relax in a tree
Singita Boulders Lodge Game Drive2
Catch a leopard looking for prey from the top of a termite mound

Leopard Behaviour

Leopards are elusive, and their behaviour makes them significantly more difficult to spot than most of Africa’s other large carnivores. It’s a common misconception that leopards spend the majority of their time draped languidly across a branch, and although that image isn’t entirely false, they mainly use height as an advantage once they’ve made a kill, hauling it up into the canopy to keep it safe from lions and hyenas rather than lounging up there for fun. Their rosette-patterned coats do the rest of the work, breaking up their outline against dappled light and long grass so effectively that a leopard can be metres away and still go completely unnoticed. When looking for leopards, it’s worth training your eyes on suitable bushes, the base of termite mounds and anywhere that offers cover as well as a good vantage point for safety. It’s also worth listening as much as looking, since a chorus of alarm calls from baboons, impala or vervet monkeys is often the first clue that a leopard is moving nearby, long before you’ll spot it yourself.

Leopard in tree-South Africa-Unsplash
Their rosette-patterned coats blend into the natural surroundings

Top Five Leopard Hotspots

Game driving - Pexels
Go out searching for leopard

1. Sabi Sands, South Africa

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Sunset over the Sabi River

South Africa safaris are popular with both first-time safari goers and aficionados alike due to the wide variety and volume of game, accessibility and affordability.
 

Only a 50 minute-flight from Johannesburg, Sabi Sands is one of the top places to view the 'big 5' especially leopards. Bordering the famous Kruger National Park, this 65,000-hectare  reserve gives an amazingly high chance of incredible leopard sightings.

What makes the Sabi Sands so good for leopards is their relaxed behaviour. Hunting in the reserve has been banned for a long time, therefore the leopards are comfortable getting close to the game drive vehicles and much less skittish and elusive.

A favourite camp in this area would be Notten’s Bush Camp. Offering a truly authentic safari experience this camp is relatively small and intimate. With 9 suites offering both indoor and outdoor showers and a private decking overlooking a large plain and waterhole, this is the perfect spot for a few nights rest and relaxation whilst taking in the incredible wildlife. It’s the kind of camp where the wildlife does the talking too, with impala and warthog often wandering right past the decking while you’re having your morning coffee.

Nottens Camp View
The intimate Nottens Safari Camp
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leopard cub lounging on a branch

2. The Okavango Delta, Botswana

Okavango Delta
The infamous Okavango Delta

A Botswana safari is top of many people’s list, and if you are looking for leopards, they are found throughout the Okavango Delta.

 With its riverine environment combining tall grasses, dense large trees and high prey numbers, it is the perfect habitat for leopards to hide, hunt and thrive in the numbers they do today. 

Countless times I have stayed in different parts of the delta, be it in the west, north, east, south or in the centre have had multiple leopard sightings in the space of three or four hours, when I think back to these game drives in more detail they all had one thing in common, the time of year. The dry season is the time to visit if you want the best chances of seeing leopards. It’s also one of the very few major river deltas on Earth that never actually reaches the sea, fanning out into the Kalahari instead, which is part of what makes the whole ecosystem, and the wildlife within it, feel so wonderfully unusual.
 

Some of my best leopard sightings have been in Khwai and the Kwara concession. I think this is most likely down to the numbers of eyes looking for them and the fact that unlike in the national parks and reserves, night drives are permitted which is when leopards are at their most active. There are a number of good camps we would recommend in these areas. In the Kwara concession both Splash and Kwara are great and in Khwai, Machaba, Little Machaba and Khwai Tented Camp are all brilliant options.

Khwai Tented Camp Firepit
Bush TV at khwai tented camp - okavango delta
Pangolin  Khwai  Camp  Leopard
leopard with its dinner

3. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Serengeti Safari
The vast open plains of the serengeti

Tanzania safaris are famous for the wildebeest migration, but the Serengeti National Park is also one of the big cat hotspots of Southern Africa. Whether you are in the North surrounded by rocky outcrops and woodlands or amongst the acacias and sausage trees in the Seronera Valley you will have a high chance of seeing one of the resident leopards.
 

With a high density of other carnivores such a lion and hyenas the leopards of the Serengeti tend to keep a low profile. Being a relatively illusive animal anyway this can make finding leopards a little trickier, however with a little perseverance this will usually pay off. In terms of times of year its always good to try and follow the migration, where there are prey animals, the big cats tend to follow. It is also often easier to stop leopards in the drier periods when the grasses are lower and the vegetation is less dense.

I would recommend any of the Singita or Lemala properties if you are heading to the Serengeti. Well established and with brilliant guiding their reputation for incredible game viewing is well warranted.

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Singita Mara River Camp
Little Chem Chem Playful Leopard Cubs
Leopard cubs playing in the serengeti

4. Masai Mara, Kenya

Masai Mara Hot Air Ballooning Copy
Take a hot air balloon safari over the Mara

Like the Serengeti, the Masai Mara is a mixture of riverine forest, rocky outcrops and open grasslands offering perfect leopard habitat. This combined with the Mara being a popular safari destination results in many of the large cats being used to higher numbers of vehicles and less shy than leopards in other area.
 

There are a number of camps that offer good chances off seeing leopard, a good start would be either of the Governors Camps for your Kenya safari. Set on the banks of the Mara river these camps offer access to the wildebeest crossings, open grasslands and the riverine forest lining the river itself. The terrain provides plenty of game viewing and particularly high chances of seeing leopard.

Another camp I would suggest is Kichehe Bush Camp in the Olari Motorogi conservancy. This area is much quieter due to the limit of bed numbers allowed. Although the numbers are lower it still offers just as good game viewing, however with fewer vehicles you may need to spend a little more time looking.

Kicheche  Bush  Camp Safari  Great  Migration
Great migration at Kicheche Mara
Governors Private Camp Leopard On Safari
Spot leopards at Governor's Camp

5. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Mfuwe Lodge Wildlife
Mfuwe lodge in South Luangwa

My memories of this area start when I was about 11, self-driving with my family through Southern Africa was a yearly adventure and South Luangwa was always built into the itinerary. 

Known as the “Valley of the leopards” they are almost a guaranteed sighting. Leopards here are abundant and with the ability to go on night drives your chances of seeing a leopard are almost guaranteed. The park is the perfect habitat for these majestic cats with large sausage trees, ebony and acacias - it’s almost built for the leopard. There are a number of stunning camps and lodges in this area you can stay at, two which I would recommend are Mchenja and Mfuwe Lodge.
 

Ultimately

Leopards, are one of the most incredible animals to see on safari and no wonder they have earned their spot in the Big Five. If seeing leopards is on your bucket list, get in touch with us to book that once in a lifetime experience. 

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