Best Time to Visit: December – March.
Nearest City: Voi
Attractions: Aruba Dam, Mdanda rock, large herds of elphants, Rhino, Ostrich, walking safaris.
Accommodation: Voi Safari lodge, Patterson Safari Camp, Finch Hattons Camp, Tsavo Safari Camp, Camp sites and self catering bandas.
Located 333 km from Nairobi, the Tsavo East National Park is one of the largest national parks in Kenya. It covers an area of about 11,747 square kilometers. The park contains some fantastic terrain, including rivers, lakes, tarns, glaciers, peaks with a wide variety of vegetation, including grasslands, acacia vegetation, open plains and savanna. It is therefore recognized as one of the world’s leading bio-diversity strongholds.
The park is also one of Kenya’s oldest national parks – it was opened in April 1948. Covering an area of about 40% of land covered by Kenyan national parks, this park is a popular safari destination, especially due to easy accessibility from the coast. A number of tour guides offer private safaris in the park. Camel safaris are another unique feature of the park. Spectacular views are yet another reason why droves of photographers frequent the park.
Visitors can stay at different types of accommodation offered. There is a large lodge with about 104 beds, four tented camps providing 92 beds, two more campsites providing 36 beds, a self-help banda site (12 beds) and nine more campsites. The park authorities are planning further lodges and tented camps. There are also 16 airstrips in the area.
Some of the popular destinations within the park include the Mudanda Rock and the Yatta Plateau, which is the world’s largest lava flow. Luggard’s Falls on the Galana River include shapely water-worn rocks. Visitors can view a variety of animals at the park, including elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, crocodile, waterbuck, kudu, gerenuk, zebra and Aruba Hunter’s hartebeest.
Visitors can try to observe the large herds of elephants after their dust baths – they glow red as they blow the red dust through the trunks. There are also about 500 species of birds, including the ostrich, and migratory birds like kestrels and buzzards.