Amboseli National Park

Amboseli, in the south of Kenya, is famous for views of the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, just over the border in Tanzania, and for its elephant herds, a combination of the two making for great photo opportunities. The park is a mix of swamps, woodland and areas of open plains and as…

Park summary

• Type

  National Park

• Size

  392 sq kms

• Distance

  Nairobi to Amboseli -- a distance of 265km, takes about 4 hours.

• Best Time to Visit

  Best Time to Visit – Amboseli NP Although Amboseli can be visited at any time of year it is recommended to go in the dry months, which are from June to October and January to February

• When to Go

Descriptions

Amboseli, in the south of Kenya, is famous for views of the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, just over the border in Tanzania, and for its elephant herds, a combination of the two making for great photo opportunities. The park is a mix of swamps, woodland and areas of open plains and as well as elephants is home to hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, wildebeests and zebras. Birdwatchers will not be disappointed with the numerous species found here which include kingfishers, herons, pygmy falcons and secretary birds stalking through the grass.

Gazetted as a national park in 1974 it covers only 392 sq kms but despite its small size and its fragile ecosystem it supports a wide range of mammals (well over 50 of the larger species) and birds (over 400 species). Years ago, Amboseli was the locale around which such famous writers as Ernest Hemingway and Robert Ruark spun their stories of big game hunting in the wilds of Africa.

A part of the Park is composed of a dried-up lake bed which in the shimmering heat produces mirages. Swamps and springs, fed by underground rivers from Kilimanjaro's melting snows, form permanent watering places for the wildlife through times of drought. The lake bed is subject to sporadic floods and noxious salts in the gravel bed are dissolved to serve as a deadly poison for what is left of the local woods; very few of the fine acacias, once a feature of this region, remain.

Local community
Amboseli National Park the home of the Maasai people, those tall, proud nomads whose legendary prowess in battle and single handed acts of bravery in fights with wild animals has spread across the globe. Perhaps more than any other community in Kenya the Maasai have learned to live in complete harmony with their environment and the wildlife which surrounds them. All round the park are occupied and abandoned manyatta - Maasai villages - quickly built out of bent poles and sticks and plastered with cow dung and equally swiftly abandoned when the grazing is finished and the herds must move on.

Attractions
The snows of Kilimanjaro, white and crystalline, form a majestic backdrop to one of Kenya's most spectacular displays of wildlife - lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, cheetah, buffalo and hosts of plains' game, creating
Kenya's most sought after photographer's paradise.

It is also the home of the Maasai people, those tall, proud nomads whose legendary prowess in battle and single handed acts of bravery in fights with wild animals has spread across the globe. The Maasai have learned to live in complete harmony with their environment and the wildlife, which surrounds them. Part of Amboseli National Park is composed of a dried-up lakebed, which in the shimmering heat produces mirages. Swamps and springs, fed by underground rivers from Kilimanjaro's melting snows, form permanent watering places for wildlife throughout times of drought.

Tourists activities
Amboseli is not a large park, but it offers you the best opportunity of seeing endangered black rhino, as well as a spectacular range of wildlife. Most of Amboseli is flat and dusty and the best spots for game viewing are the two swamps
 

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