Southern Kenya
Amboseli
Big-tusked elephants on open pans beneath Kilimanjaro — the most photographed view in East Africa, and it earns the reputation.
Southern Kenya
Tsavo
Kenya's largest wilderness — red-dust elephants, lava flows and the spring-fed pools at Mzima.
About Tsavo
Tsavo is vast: East and West together cover about four per cent of Kenya. That scale is the appeal and the challenge — game is spread thin compared with the Mara, but you can drive for an hour without meeting another vehicle.
Tsavo West is the more scenic half, with the Chyulu Hills, black lava flows from Shetani, and Mzima Springs where you can watch hippo underwater from a submerged viewing chamber. Tsavo East is flatter, drier and better for big herds against open horizons.
The elephants here are famously red, dusted with the region's ochre soil.
What you come for
- Mzima Springs and its underwater hippo viewing chamber
- Red-dust elephants against the Chyulu Hills
- Shetani lava flows — a recent eruption in geological terms
- Genuine wilderness with very low vehicle density
Wildlife you may see
- Elephant
- Lion
- Buffalo
- Lesser kudu
- Fringe-eared oryx
- Hippo
- Crocodile
Where to stay
- Lodges overlooking waterholes, where game comes to you
- Tented camps on the Galana river in Tsavo East
Practical tips
- Tsavo sits between Nairobi and the coast — a natural stop on a safari-and-beach route.
- Distances inside the park are long. Plan fewer, longer drives.
Consider pairing with
Southern Kenya
Southern Rift
Maasai Mara
Open grassland, the highest predator density in Kenya, and between July and October, the river crossings that draw people back for a lifetime.
Northern Kenya
Samburu
Arid northern country along the Ewaso Nyiro, home to species you will not see anywhere further south.