Tsavo National Park Tour and Travel Guide, Kenya Wildlife and Cultural Safaris
Best Wildlife Activities and Attractions In Tsavo National Park: Is the largest national park in Kenya and one of the most visited in East Africa. The park is located beside famous attractions, Chyulu Hills National Park, and near the coast. This ultimate destination is divided into Tsavo East and Tsavo West. Tsavo National Parks possess unspoiled wilderness and some of Africa’s most diverse landscapes, from rolling volcanos to open savannah. Tsavo National Park is an idyllic place for spectacular scenery, nature walks, and solo travelers.
Tsavo National Park is vast. Put together, the western and eastern areas of Tsavo National Park make up one of the largest animal sanctuaries in the world. Tsavo East became renowned, or perhaps more correctly, infamous in the early 20th century, as the home of man-eating lions which treated the railway workers building the Mombasa to Kampala line as a new food source. Tsavo National Park was also the setting in the First World War of battles between British and German troops vying for supremacy in East Africa. Tsavo is old, in that is one of Kenya’s longest established parks, and yet at the same time young, because the Ngulia Hills that dominate the area are of comparatively recent volcanic origin.
It's located in the Coast Province of Kenya in between Nairobi City and Mombasa. Tsavo is nearly 22,000 km2, being the largest national park in Kenya and one of the largest in the world. The park was split into two due to the railway going from Mombasa to the interior of Kenya.
Location and Size of Tsavo National Park:
Tsavo East National Park is one of the oldest parks in Kenya, located South East of Kenya near the Town of Voi in the Taita-Taveta District of Coast Province, inland from the Coast, it is 13,747 sq. km. The Tsavo West National Park is also located in the Coast Province of Kenya covering an area of 9,065 sq. km. The park was opened in April 1948.
Tsavo East Features:
The slightly larger Tsavo East is generally flat, with dry plains across which the Galana River flows. Other features include the Yatta Plateau and Lugard Falls.
Tsavo East is the much less visited side of the park and a wildlife photographer’s dream. Large elephant herds roam the vast scrubland plains that make up most of the terrain. An exception to this terrain is the Yatta Plateau. The plateau, standing at 1000 ft high and stretching for roughly 180 miles, can attribute its existence to the planet’s largest lava flow. Erosion over the years has sculpted the plateau into its present, slightly brooding shape. Lugard’s Fall, another highlight, is the waters of the Galana River rushing through water-polished rocks. Crocodiles and hippos live downstream and can best seen at Crocodile Point.
In addition to the wildlife species that it has in common with Tsavo West; the eastern park has rare local birds that come in a rainbow of hues and include the colorful yellow-throated longclaws, rosy-patched shrikes, red and yellow barbets, carmine bee-eaters and the white-headed buffalo weaver – to list just a few of the 500 species that have been recorded here.
Tsavo West Features:
Tsavo West, Volcanic activity such as the cones, outcrops, and lava flows are still visible. The most striking of the hardened flows is Shaitana, which looks like it cooled down only recently and whose name (meaning ‘devil’ in Swahili) seems particularly apposite as it burst from beneath the ground. The surrounding cave formations should not be missed but you will need a torch.
As each year draws to an end the Ngulia hills become host to an amazing nightly display when birds, literally in their thousands, appear out of the darkening mists. Some 40 species make this journey to escape the cold winters of Northern Europe. A netting and ringing project has tracked some of them back to as far as northern Russia.
The region is also home to an incredibly important water source – the Mzima Springs. The springs produce approximately 50 million gallons of water a day – 30 million of which are piped to Mombasa. The source of the springs is the ice cap on Kilimanjaro and the rains that fall on the Chyulu Hills which soak through the porous volcanic rock to form subterranean rivers. The springs attract hippos, barbels, and crocodiles and an underwater viewing platform allows you to see the animals. The best observation time is in the early morning before the hippos get too hot and shelter themselves out of sight in the surrounding papyrus cover.
Lake Jipe in the southwest of Tsavo West is a very important wetland. Birds commonly seen are pied kingfishers, knob-billed geese, palm nut vultures, and the African skimmer. A few rhinos are left in Tsavo protected in an enclosed sanctuary at the foot of the Ngulia Hills. Other wildlife include cheetah, buffalo, oryx, eland, zebra, leopard, buffalo, spotted hyena, kongoni, waterbuck, impala, duiker, and klipspringer. The lions of Tsavo may once have been infamous but when the rains have fallen and the grass is long – they are very difficult to spot.
Tsavo West National Park is more mountainous and wetter than its counterpart, with swamps, Lake Jipe, and the Mzima Springs. It is known for bird life and its large mammals e.g. black rhino, Cape buffalo, elephant, leopard, hippo, and Masai lion. Other smaller animals can be spotted in the park, such as the bush baby, hartebeest, lesser kudu, and Maasai giraffe.
A trip to Tsavo East National Park can be made all year round however, it can be best planned from June to October and January to February when conditions in the park are favorable for wildlife watching. During the peak of the short rains (November) and the long rains (April), conditions can be more challenging. The vegetation at these times is denser and animals spread out, which makes spotting them more difficult.
Access to the Tsavo National Park
The parks can be accessed through several gates. Tsavo East can be accessed through Manyani Gate, Voi Gate, Buchuma Gate, and Sala Gate.
Tsavo West can be accessed through Mtito Gate, Man-Eaters Gate, Chyulu Gate, and one other near Maktau.
Accommodation in Tsavo National Park
There are plenty of places to stay in the two parks. These ranges greatly and most of them have a water hole close to the property making game viewing easier. These include Kilaguni Serena, Finch Hatton’s, Galdessa Camp, and Satao Camp among others.
Book and Arrange with Ultimate Wild Safaris for the safari tour of Tsavo National Park in Kenya.
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mobile: +256 705 087 906 / 760 282 342
