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TSAVO NATIONAL PARK
Kenya's Largest Park
Below find a summary of facts and figures about the Tsavo National Park:
Size:
- Tsavo East: 13747 kmē
Location: the Tsavo National Park, in the southern part of Kenya, is divided in Tsavo West and East by the highway and railway from Nairobi to Mombasa. In total the park covers 22812 kmē, making it the largest national park in Kenya and one of the biggest in Africa.
Driving time from Nairobi to Tsavo West is about 5 hours. For people staying at the coast, Tsavo East is closer by.
Many tourists combine Tsavo West with the Amboseli National Park. A dirt road of 100 km connects the parks. The transfer can easily be done in the morning, arriving at the next destination in time for lunch.
Landscape: Tsavo consists mainly of vast savannah plains and semi-desert, riverine forests with acacias, scrub land and a long lava flows.
Worth visiting in Tsavo West are:
Mzima Springs: a swamp with crystal clear water teaming with fish, hippos and crocodiles.
Kichwa Tembo: a steep rock wall which is often climbed by members of the Mountain Club of Kenya.
Worth visiting in Tsavo East are:
The Yatta Plateau: the world's longest lava flow runs along the western boundary of the park above the Athi River. Its 290 km length was formed by lava from the Ol Doinyo Sabuk Mountain.
The Aruba Dam was built in 1952 across the Voi River. The reservoir created by the dam attracts many animals and water birds.
Mammals: e.g. the red elephants (their colour comes from the red soil found in the park), lions, spotted and striped hyenas, lesser kudus (a not so common antelope), gerenuks (gazelles with long necks), wild dogs, hippos...
Bird species: Over 500 bird species have been registered in the park.
Human traffic: because of its vastness, you never have the impression there's lots of tourists in the park.
Activities: game drives, bird watching, photography, rock climbing
Accommodation: The park has a lot of good and top end lodges and tented camps. We prefer to book our guests in the Severin Safari Camp or the Kilaguni Serena Lodge in Tsavo West and in the Ashnil Aruba Lodge in Tsavo East.