On the following pages you will find a selection of parks and places of interest. If you want to see other areas, I can also integrate them in your trip.
Tsavo National Park is the largest national park in Kenya. It has two parts, which are divided by the road between Mombasa and Nairobi, in the Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park.
The total area of almost 23.000 km² is divided into approximately 14.000 km² for the Tsavo East National Park and about 9.000 km² for the Tsavo West National Park.
Tsavo East is the oldest and largest national park in Kenya. With its wonderful light and the stunning scenery and views, such as the Mudanda Rock and Yatta Plateau, the Tsavo East is especially recommended for photographers. The landscape of Tsavo East is very dry. In the southern part there is grass and bush savannah, which turns into semi-desert in the northern part of the park.
The Tsavo West is more hilly and mountainous than the Tsavo East. The landscape of the Tsavo West was formed by volcanoes. The area in the west of the national park is supplied by meltwater from the Mount Kilimanjaro range, which is filtered through black lava rock. Here there are spring basins that are home to hippos and nile crocodiles. In the southern area, the savannah dominates with its typical inhabitants, such as gnus, zebras and antelopes. There are also gerenuks, elephants, impalas, giraffes, cheetahs, waterbucks, kudus, lions, mongos, hyraxes and porcupines.
The lions here are considered to be particularly aggressive.
The Tsavo West is more visited by tourists than the Tsavo East.
The elephants in the Tsavo are really all reddish colored, which is because the earth of the Tsavo National Park is of volcanic origin. The elephants powder themselves with dust for skin care, whereby a part of the dust sticks to them.
In Tsavo West there is the possibility to go on a walking safari, because there are some hiking trails and the opportunity to visit the Chaimu volcanic crater.
The Amboseli National Park is bordered to the south by Tanzania and the largest mountain formation of Africa, the Mount Kilimanjaro range.
No Hollywood studio could create a more beautiful backdrop for a safari than the Amboseli National Park - while elephants, zebras and buffaloes graze in the savannah, the snow-capped peak of the mighty Kilimanjaro shines in the background. Both photographers and filmmakers use the fantastic scenery of the Amboseli National Park in Kenya for unbeatable recordings.
Already since 1899, the Amboseli Park is a wildlife reserve, in 1974 it was officially declared a national park. The 400 km² area of the Amboseli is one of the protected zones with the densest concentration of wild animals in East Africa.
Ol Tukai, a lake and marsh area, which is attractive for many wild animals and provides food all year round is located in the heart of the Amboseli national park. The Amboseli is known for its large elephant population. They can often be seen wading through the densely covered swamps.
In the dry areas of the park one can see buffoot spitboks, gerenuks and antilopes. They are, in turn, the food source for predators, such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, jackals, spotted hyenas, and the small, shy spoon-dogs.
The bird world is also represented here as well, especially in the marshy areas (pink and white pelicans, dwarf geese, kingfishers, bee-eaters, African fish eagles, fighting eagles ...).
West of Ol Tukai lies the Observation Hill, an elevation from which you can get a beautiful view over the park.
The Maasai Mara, in Maa's Maa language means "the spotted land, colorful mess", is not only the most impressive animal protection area in Kenya but forms together with the southern continuation, the Serengeti,one of the world's greatest animal protection areas.
The protected area has a size of 1900 km². Thanks to its well-irrigated grassland and two permanent rivers, the Mara and the Talek, it always provides enough food to all its inhabitants.
In the hilly savannah landscape with the umbrella anacias, you can experience the feeling of great space and unspoiled Africa.
Four landscape forms determine the Maasai Mara:
The Ngama Hills in the east are characterized by sandy soil and bushes, which leaves the Black Rhino likes to eat.
The Oloololo Escarpment, about 300m high, forms the western border of the animal protection area and rises rather steeply to an impressive elevation.
The Mara Triangle borders on the Mara River. It is characterized by fertile grassland and acacia forest and is a habitat for many animals, especially during the great animal migration.
The great plains are the main part of the Maasai Mara. This landscape, with its hills, rocky cliffs, bushes and trees, is the favorite spot for many animals.
Due to its varied landscape and its rich wildlife, the Maasai Mara is one of the most beautiful national parks in the world.
Here you will find almost everything the animal world has to offer: lions, cheetahs, leopards, wildhounds, hyenas, jackals, broom cats, mongoos, baboons, bush babies, rhinoceroses, zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, various antelopes, topis,waterbucks......
Bird lovers can find almost 500 species of birds in the Maasai Mara, including 16 eagle species, buzzards and hawks ...
The experience of the great animal migration is unrivaled when hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras move from the grazed pastures of the Serengeti into the succulent pastures of the Maasai Mara and back to the south after the first rainfall in the Serengeti. At this time the grassland and the gently rolling hills of the Maasai Mara almost entirely disappear among the animal herds. Tightly close, the animal move to new feeding places, and the endless rows of animals often reaches the horizon.
The national park encloses Mt. Kenya and has a size of 715 km². It is located about 140 km northeast of the Kenyan capital. With its 5199 m, Mt. Kenya is Africa's second highest mountain after the Kilimanjaro. It is an extinct volcano whose diameter is over 80 km and has three summits - the Batian, Nelion and Lenana. Mt. Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the only mountain in the world that is located on the equator. Its summit is covered by snow all year.
Since 1949 the volcanic massif with its numerous flora and fauna has been protected as a national park.
The park offers an impressive mountain landscape with highland and mountain forest, bamboo forests and glaciers.
The park impresses with its diverse bird world. It is a habitat for many rare wild animals such as Sykes and Colobus monkeys, buffaloes, elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards, bongo antelopes, forest pigs, hyenas, lions and numerous reptiles like mountain vipers. A total of eleven species live worldwide exclusively in the Mount Kenya National Park, including a mole rat species, a lizard species, and certain moorhens.
The Samburu National Reserve does not have the status of a national park and is, with 140 km², very small. It was established in 1985 and is located in the dry north of Kenya. It was named after the Samburu tribesmen and nomads.
The Samburu are a fighter and nomadic people from the north of Kenya. Their language, the Maa, is that of their close relatives the Maasai. The name derives from "Samburr", the traditional leather bag of the Samburu, which is used for transporting meat and honey.
In the immediate vicinity is the Buffalo Springs Reserve. It is a semi-desert landscape with rocky hills, rivers, open and wide savannah and dry bushland.
To the east lies the 108 km² Shaba National Reserve. All three reserves have the same geological origin and are located in the East African Rift Valley.
The Uaso Nyero River, which is an important livelihood for the park's animal population, flows through the area. It also leads water in the dry season and its bank is lined with dense gallery forest of umbrella acacia.
Typical inhabitants of the dry landscape are : various antelope species, impalas, gazelles, reticulated giraffes and ostriches. In the Samburu there are Gerenuks, Grevy Zebras, Beisa Spitboks, Kudus, Lions, Leopards, Hippos, mighty Nile Crocodiles, Warthogs and over 450 species of birds.
It is located on the most famous lake of the Rift Valley, the Nakuru Lake, which is known worldwide for flamingos. The alkaline lake was declared a bird sanctuary in 1961 and has a size of 188 km². Currently almost 2 million flamingos live on the lake.
The Lake Nakuru is also a rhinoceros protection area with a population of more than sixty black and white rhinoceros.
A few years ago some individuals of the endangered reticulated giraffe were resettled here. They have multiplied and are now a familiar picture.
The area is home to more than 400 bird species and 70 species of mammals, including lions, leopards, red-headed giraffes, waterbucks, gazelles, zebras, green sea cats, colobus monkeys, baboons and eagles.
On the eastern shore of the lake, a wonderful tree euphorbia (Euphorbia candelabrum), which is unique in Kenya, is built. It is the largest pure euphorbia forest in Africa.
The Makalia waterfalls are also worth a visit. Here you can also explore the park on foot. A magnificent panorama view can be enjoyed from the Baboon Cliff and the Lion Hill.
Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in the East African Rift Valley, in the eastern part of the Great Rift Valley. The lake is located at an altitude of 2000 m and has a size of 130 km².
The lake drains mainly large parts of the rainy Aberdane in the east. Two rivers, Melawa and Gilgil, flow into the lake. The inactive volcano Mount Longnot is next to him.
It is home to some 300 bird species: e.g. Ibisse, fish eagle, Marabus ....
giraffes, antelopes, hippos, gnats and zebras can be seen around the lake.
Next to Lake Naivasha lies Lake Elementaita, home of numerous pelicans and flamingos.
We recommend a trip to the island of Crescent, at the southern end of the lake. It belongs to the edge of an old sunken volcano. The 2 km² island is in private ownership, but is a publicly accessible wildlife sanctuary which can be explored on foot. There are no predators on the island. But maybe you can see gazelles, impalas and waterbucks. About 400 species of birds can be found on the island.