Tsavo National Parks

Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park account for the largest of Kenya’s protected spaces - more than 23,000km² (2,300,000 hectares) of wild, remote land.

Named for the Tsavo River that runs through both parks, this enormous landscape has one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in Kenya. Habitats range from the red semi-desert and grassland savannas of the East to the rainforests of the Chyulu Hills, and inselbergs and sheer cliff faces of the West.

Tsavo West is more developed than Tsavo East, particularly the accessible area between the Tsavo River and Mombasa highway.

Tsavo is particularly famous for its big-tusked elephants - often called 'super tuskers'.

Tsavo East National Park

Tsavo East National Park stretches over 13,700km² (1,370,000 hectares) of red semi-desert and arid grassland savannas that stretch as far as the eye can see, bisected by the riverine vegetation and gorges of the Galana River. With Tsavo West National Park and Chyulu Hills National Park, Tsavo East forms a formidable 23,000km² (2,300,000 hectares) protected area.

Geologically fascinating, Tsavo East is home to the Yatta Plateau (the longest lava flow in the world, which begins near Nairobi and stretches for over 300km) and Mudanda Rock, which acts as a water catchment and offers visitors the perfect outlook to watch animals arriving to drink there.

The park receives fewer visitors than Tsavo West, and you can spend a day exploring without encountering another soul. The reopening of the “forbidden zone” (closed off during the poaching wars) has added yet another spectacular aspect to an already striking reserve, particularly for those keen to spot African wild dogs (painted wolves).

Aside from super tusker elephants and the rarely seen wild dogs, visitors can expect to see maneless lions, bizarre long-necked gerenuks, lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx and the critically endangered hirola antelope (the world's rarest antelope). Sightings of black rhinos are rare but rewarding, as are sightings of striped hyenas.

The bird variety is equally diverse, with about 500 bird species recorded in Tsavo East, including the golden-breasted starling, African orange-bellied parrot, vulturine guineafowl and Somali ostrich.

Much history and mythology surrounds Tsavo due to the infamous man-eating Tsavo lions made famous by the Hollywood film The Ghost and the Darkness.

Tsavo West National Park

Tsavo West National Park covers 9,000km² (900,000 hectares) of varied habitats, which are bisected by the riverine vegetation and gorges of the Tsavo River.

The Mzima Springs in the north of the park are a significant attraction for visitors to Tsavo West. Here, people can enter a glass viewing chamber to watch the life underneath the surface of a crystal-clear pool – including schools of fish, crocodiles, and the resident hippos. The dense date and raffia palms and various other fruiting trees attract a variety of bird and primate life, making the springs a veritable oasis, especially during the drier months.

Closer to the Tanzanian border and Mount Kilimanjaro, Tsavo West is topographically fascinating. Its dramatic mountains, inselbergs, and sheer cliff faces result from ancient (and relatively recent) tectonic shifts and volcanic eruptions.

A combination of fertile volcanic soils and higher rainfall levels can make the vegetation of Tsavo West dense in places. This can make wildlife viewing slightly more challenging than Tsavo East but the scenery even more spectacular.

Aside from super tusker elephants, visitors can search for lions, leopards, bizarre long-necked gerenuks, lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx, Maasai giraffe, buffalo, hippos and crocodiles. Sightings of black rhinos are rare but rewarding, as are sightings of striped hyenas.

The bird variety is equally diverse, with over 530 bird species recorded in Tsavo East, including the golden-breasted starling, African orange-bellied parrot, vulturine guineafowl and Somali ostrich.