Kenya

Kenya practically invented the safari. The word itself is Swahili for journey, and the country's Maasai Mara reserve hosts the single most spectacular wildlife event on the planet - the annual Great Migration, when over two million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles thunder across the Mara River from Tanzania's Serengeti. But reducing Kenya to just safaris misses the bigger picture. This is a country of extraordinary contrasts, from the snow-capped peak of Mount Kenya to the coral reefs of the Indian Ocean coast, from the flamingo-pink shores of Lake Nakuru to the arid deserts of the north.

Nairobi is East Africa's most dynamic city, home to a tech scene so vibrant it has earned the nickname Silicon Savannah. M-Pesa, the mobile money system that changed how Africa does business, was born here. The city also has the unusual distinction of having a national park within its boundaries - you can watch giraffes with skyscrapers in the background. And then there are the runners. Kenya's dominance in long-distance running is one of sport's great phenomena. The Kalenjin people of the Rift Valley have produced more Olympic and World Championship medalists in distance events than any comparable group on Earth.