Amboseli National Park
Amboseli is the perfect start or end to your safari, a must-see for any traveler visiting Kenya
That classic photograph of an elephant with a snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro in the background that you see on coffee-table books? That’s Amboseli National Park. The swamps here are the only source of water for the elephant during the dry season and the whole west Kilimanjaro/Amboseli ecosystem depends on water from the Amboseli springs and swamp. Observation Hill and Enkongo Narok Swamp are usually teeming with elephants, and there’s good general game viewing, with plains game and even buffalo, cheetah and hyena.
More on Amboseli National Park holidays
The almost 400-square-kilometre national park, which used to be managed by the local Masai community, is part of a much bigger ecosystem that includes Chyulu Hills to the north-east, west Kilimanjaro to the south and Tsavo West to the east.
There are no fences to obstruct the free-ranging movement of wild animals between these areas, allowing for a higher carrying capacity – especially in a semi-arid vegetation zone where seasonal rains vary greatly. There are early flights to Amboseli from Nairobi’s Wilson airport and you can easily combine a visit to the park with the rest of Kenya’s south-western or south-eastern safari circuits.
