Probably second only to the Maasai Mara in popularity, Amboseli is a fairly small park known for its vast elephant herds. They’re often photographed with nearby Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. Only 200 km from Nairobi, Amboseli combines well with a number of other game parks for an outstanding Kenyan safari experience.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Iconic, snow-capped Kilimanjaro as a backdrop
- Known for its huge herds of elephants
- Excellent variety and abundance of wildlife
- Great selection of safari lodges
- Game viewing includes game drives, walking and horseback safaris
- Different types of landscapes add to the scenic safari experience
Amboseli National Park is on the Tanzanian border, just north-west of Mount Kilimanjaro (or Kili as it’s known to locals), and provides the most iconic and majestic views of the world’s highest free-standing mountain. It’s probably one of the most photographed wildlife areas in the world. You’ll see it typically showing huge herds of game pictured in front of the backdrop of snow-capped Kili.
Small in size, but not in wildlife
The smallish park, covering just 390 km², is part of the vast Amboseli ecosystem of 3,000 km² with a variety of landscapes from dry expanses of open plains and rocky thornbush to acacia woodlands, swamps and marshlands. It’s best known for its huge herds of elephants. An abundance of wildlife congregates here in the dry season, making this park second only to Maasai Mara in popularity.
Great choice of lodges & game viewing options
There is a good choice of luxury lodges at Amboseli and you have the option to go on game drives, horseback safaris and guided bush walks with experienced guides and rangers. The game viewing is not quite on par with Maasai Mara as it’s a much smaller park, but you’re likely to see the big African mammals; elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena, giraffe, several antelope species and other plains animals. Birding is very respectable with over 300 species recorded here.
Easy reach of Nairobi
Amboseli is about 200 km from Nairobi and is often included on safari itineraries as it’s easy to get to by road or air. It combines well with safaris to Maasai Mara and Tsavo National Park as well as parks in neighboring Tanzania like Mount Kilimanjaro, Arusha, and the more famous Serengeti, Tarangire and Ngorongoro Crater.
Please discuss your wishlist and preferences with us, and we’ll happily design your dream safari for you – with no obligation at all.
Amboseli is famous for its huge herds of elephant and thousands of other large plains animals that come to drink at the area’s many permanent lakes and swampland’s. Photo opportunities are something of an attraction, using the very distinctive Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop for a wide variety of wildlife.
A lesser known fact is that the Amboseli has its own wildebeest and zebra migration, albeit on a much smaller scale than the Maasai Mara. Other plentiful species include Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, buffalo, hartebeest, eland and water-buck as well as healthy populations of lion and hyena.
The Amboseli region has several lodges and safari camps and walking safaris are also popular here. It’s proximity to the Tanzanian border makes it a popular add-on to an itinerary that includes Tanzania.
We have no scheduled safaris to Amboseli but can include one on a tailor-made Kenyan safari itinerary. We recommend spending at least 2 nights at Amboseli National Park. Speak to us about your safari wish-list and we’d be more than happy to design a custom safari to suit your budget and requirements.