National Parks and Game Reserves in Kenya

Welcome to Kenya’s most accessible yet incongruous safari experience. Set on the city’s southern outskirts, Nairobi National Park (at 117 sq km, one of Africa’s smallest) has abundant wildlife that can, in places, be viewed against a backdrop of city skyscrapers and planes coming in to land – it's one of the only national parks on earth in a capital city. Remarkably, the animals seem utterly unperturbed by it all.  The park is home to the world's densest concentration of black rhinos (more than 50). The park’s wetland areas sustain approximately 400 bird species, which is more than in the whole of the UK. read more read less

The drama of the beautiful wilderness and exciting Wildlife at all times of the year, is the experience you get during Maasai Mara Game Drives. Known for its Big Cat, sightings are generally very good here. It is an African Gem of WIldlife viewing.  This huge expanse of gently rolling grassland – specked with flat-topped acacia trees and trampled by massive herds of zebras and wildebeest – is the ultimate African cliché. But for once the reality lives up to the image and the Masai Mara, which comprises not just the famous reserve but also around a dozen community conservancies, several group ranches and numerous Maasai villages, is for many people not just the highlight of their Kenyan adventure but the very reason they came in the first place. read more read less

Blistered with termite skyscrapers, cleaved by the muddy Ewaso Ngiro River and heaving with heavyweight animals, this triumvirate of national reserves has a beauty that is unsurpassed, as well as a population of creatures that occur in no other major Kenyan park. These species include the blue-legged Somali ostrich, endangered Grevy’s zebra, beisa oryx, reticulated giraffe and gerenuk – gazelles that dearly wish to be giraffes. Despite covering just 300 sq km, the reserves' variety of landscapes and vegetation is amazing. read more read less

Amboseli belongs to the elite of Kenya’s national parks, and it’s easy to see why. Its signature attraction is the sight of hundreds of big-tusked elephants set against the backdrop of Africa’s best views of Mt Kilimanjaro (5895m). Africa’s highest peak broods over the southern boundary of the park, and while cloud cover can render the mountain’s massive bulk invisible for much of the day, you’ll be rewarded with stunning vistas when the weather clears, usually at dawn or dusk. Apart from guaranteed elephant sightings, you’ll also see wildebeest and zebras, and you have a reasonable chance of spotting lions and hyenas. The park is also home to over 370 bird species. And with chances to delve a little deeper into the world of wildlife conservation, it all adds up to one of Kenya’s premier wildlife experiences. The name "Amboseli" comes from a Maasai word meaning "salty dust", and it is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. Nature lovers can explore five different habitats here ranging from the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, wetlands with sulphur springs, the savannah and woodlands.  They can also visit the local Maasai community who live around the park and experience their authentic culture. In 1974 a little more than 10% of the reserve was established as the Amboseli National Park, with an area of 151 square miles (392 square km). Centred on Lake Amboseli, normally dry with a flat basin of alkaline soils, the park encompasses three of the original seven habitats: open plains, thornbush country, and acacia woodland. A great variety of wildlife inhabits the park. Important fauna includes baboons, lions, cheetahs, elephants, black rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, Maasai giraffes, buffalo, oryx, wildebeests, gerenuk, impalas, and gazelles. There are also a number of excellent accommodation options for you to consider. Check our recommended list here. read more read less

Boasting a large number of elephants as well as black rhinos, Aberdare National Park lures those who want more than just a safari. With dense forests, 300m-high waterfalls and amazing hikes, this park is as much about the flora as it is the fauna. While trekking, keep an eye open for bush pigs, rare black leopards and buffaloes. read more read less

Dry, dusty and dramatic but infinitely peaceful, Hell's Gate is that rare thing: an adventurous Kenyan park with large animals that's safe to explore by bicycle or on foot. Named for the intense geothermal activity within its boundaries, the Hell's Gate National Park is a remarkable quarter of the Great Rift Valley. Spectacular scenery including the towering cliffs, water-gouged gorges, stark rock towers, scrub clad volcanoes and belching plumes of geothermal steam make it one of the most atmospheric Parks in Africa. read more read less

Lake Nakuru is among Kenya's finest national parks. Flanked by rocky escarpments, pockets of acacia forest and at least one waterfall, the park is gorgeous year-round and is home to both black and white rhinos, lions, leopards, hippos and endangered Rothschild's giraffes.  read more read less

Africa’s second-highest mountain might just be its most beautiful. Being the second tallest mountain in Africa, the scenery surrounding this designated world heritage site is breathtaking. The wilderness is perfect and Mount Kenya peaks are of great beauty. It is pristine with lakes, tarns, glaciers, dense forest and mineral springs. The montane and alpine vegetation here is unique, with a wide variety of wildlife which include elephants, tree hyrax, white tailed mongoose, black fronted duikers, bushbucks, waterbucks, leopards, black rhino and buffaloes. It is as well an excellent destination for bird watchers. read more read less

Tsavo is one of Kenya’s larger national parks (9065 sq km), covering a huge variety of landscapes from swamps, natural springs and rocky peaks to extinct volcanic cones, rolling plains and sharp outcrops dusted with greenery. This is a park with a whiff of legend about it, first for its famous man-eating lions in the late 19th century and then for its devastating levels of poaching in the 1980s. Despite the latter, there’s still plenty of wildlife here, although you’ll have to work harder and be much more patient than in Amboseli or the Masai Mara; the foliage is generally denser and higher here. Put all of these things together, along with its dramatic scenery, fine lodges and sense of space, and this is one of Kenya’s most rewarding parks. read more read less