Tsavo Safaris

Tsavo West National Park is a game park situated in southern Kenya, located about 200km south-east of Nairobi. Combined with Tsavo East this park forms the world's largest game sanctuary. The two parks are separated by the Mombasa/Nairobi road. Tsavo West covers a huge variety of landscapes, from swamps and natural springs to rocky peaks, extinct volcanic cones to rolling plains and sharp reddish outcrops. Wildlife can be difficult to spot because of the dense scrubs.

Tsavo Price Guide

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How to get there

Air

Kamboyo, Kilaguni, Tsavo Gate, Jipe, Kasigau, Finch Hottons, Ziwani and Maktau airstrips are in good condition.

Land

The main access routes are through Chyulu Gate from Amboseli and Mtito Andei Gate from Nairobi and Mombasa. Visitors from Mombasa also use Tsavo Gate near Manyani. The park can also be reached via Taveta-Voi road through Maktau, Ziwani and Jipe gates.

Kilaguni Serena Lodge

Kilaguni is the first lodge ever to be built in a Kenyan National Park. The lodge is located on a ridge in the lee of Mount Kilimanjaro adjacent to a teeming waterhole which is visited daily by vast herds of elephant, buffalo and plains game. Kilaguni takes its name from a Kamba word meaning 'young rhino'.

Kilaguni Serena Lodge

Tsavo West National Reserve Game Viewing

Introduction

The park is famous for the Mzima Springs, with its unique underwater hippo observatory. The springs produce an incredible 93 million gallons of fresh water a day. Chaimu Crater and the Roaring Rocks viewpoint can be climbed in 15 minutes. The views from either spot are stunning, where falcons, eagles and buzzards whirl over the plains.

Game Viewing

The park offers a variety of wildlife and birdlife. More than 600 species of birds have been recorded. Animals include the leopard, cheetah, buffalo, rhino, elephant, giraffe, zebra, duiker, waterbuck, lion, crocodile, mongoose, warthog, hyrax, dik dik and porcupine. Another attraction is the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary at the base of Ngulia Hills. The sanctuary is part of the Rhino Ark Programme which protects Tsavo West's 49 black rhinos. The Shetani flow, a black lave flow of 8km long, 1.6km wide and 5m deep, is the remain of volcanic eruptions. There is a cave located near the centre of the outflow. Although the cave is only a few meters long, the exit is not accessible as the place is too narrow. In the far south western corner of the park is Lake Jipe. This attractive lake is fed by runoff from Mount Kilimanjaro and the northern Pare mountains.

Seasons

The temperature in Tsavo West is very hot and can reach up to 40C in the hot season (January - February). There are two rainy seasons, the long rains from March to April and the short rains in November and December. Rain falls more in the south western part than in the north eastern part of the park.