Experience The wildlife in the Amboseli National Park

Amboseli easily ranks among the elite of Kenya’s national parks. Located in the Great Rift Valley, Amboseli National Park is characterized by swampy springs and dry, dusty earth trampled by hundreds of animals. Nature lovers can explore the five main wildlife habitats including the swamps, marshland, open savannah plains, acacia woodland and rocky thorn bush country.

Amboseli National Park offers some of the best opportunities for seeing wildlife because of its sparse vegetation. During the dry season, large numbers of animals congregate here around the few water sources.

Amboseli is famous for its big game. It’s the best place in Africa to get up close with free range elephants and other wildlife species. There are over 1,000 elephants in Amboseli and their relaxed nature around vehicles means that you are guaranteed close-up encounters. 

The park is also renowned for its scenic beauty with its landscape dominated by the towering Mount Kilimanjaro. On a clear day, usually at dawn or dusk, you will be rewarded with spectacular vistas of Africa’s highest peak. This is an ideal time to get your classic photo of elephants moving across the plains with Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. 

Visitors can climb up to Observation Hill to get an overview of the whole park. From here you can see the swamps that host herds of elephants, buffaloes and hippos. There are also giraffe, zebra, impala, wildebeest, mongoose, hyrax and nocturnal porcupine. The predators in Amboseli include lions, leopard, cheetah, hyena, wild dogs and crocodile. The park boasts over 400 bird species and a diversity of water fowl such as pelican, kingfisher and Egyptian goose. 

The park is ideal for going on scenic nature walks, game viewing, bird watching, and camping and photography safaris. There are also opportunities to visit a local Maasai village and meet the legendary Maasai people. This way you can gain insights into their indigenous lifestyle and contemporary culture.