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Write a User ReviewBusy Park, Overlooked by Kilimanjaro
Those wonderful photos of Kilimanjaro rising majestically above a thicket of acacia trees, with elephants ambling past and perhaps a hot-air balloon floating serenely overheard? They’re taken in Amboseli. Kili’s snowy cap may be much depleted but for me, the sight of the crater still brings on that thrilling buzz of recognition one gets when face to face with any of the world’s great landmarks, from the Statue of Liberty to Victoria Falls.
It’s best not to get too excited about the game-viewing experience in Amboseli though – it’s a small park that’s all too easy to reach from Nairobi and Mombasa, so tourists come here in droves and it’s rare to have a moment of peace without another vehicle in view or in earshot. There are plenty of elephants in Amboseli, along with zebras, giraffes and buffalo, but few predators.
Amboseli: In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro
Amboseli was the very first place I went on safari, and it has always been very special to me as a result. It was here that I saw my first lions and my love affair with the park has never really ended. I hear people complain about Amboseli – that clouds obscured Kilimanjaro, that they didn’t see any predators, that it was too busy. I can only call it as I see it. I have been lucky enough to see lions on every single visit. In close to 30 days spent in the park over the years, I have seen Kilimanjaro’s summit on every single one of them. And yes, Amboseli can become very busy (don’t ever visit during the Easter holidays; I once shared a Good Friday cheetah sighting with 37 other vehicles), but I’ve come during the week in low season and have seen many more lions than other travelers. And for all my nostalgia for this picturesque park, it always gives me a surprise: on my last visit alone, I saw a mother cheetah with four cubs, stumbled again upon the spotted hyena den near the
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airstrip, and rediscovered the many reasons why I first fell in love with Amboseli all those years ago.A Land of Giants
By East African standards, Amboseli is quite small – a mere 150 square miles of arid plains that become a dustbowl in the dry season months of July to October. And yet this is a land of giants. Amboseli is the park where Kenya’s biggest tuskers roam against the stunning backdrop of Kilimanjaro – the world’s highest freestanding mountain. At its foot lie lush green swamps – a dream of water in a thirsty land. Fed by the meltwaters of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers, they are vital to the park’s well being. Without these dense, reedy oases, Amboseli and its wildlife could not exist. My abiding memory of Amboseli are the evening game drives, heading back to Tortilis Camp when the light turns to gold and the air is filled with a fog of dust in which solemn processions of marching elephants appear as ghostly silhouettes.
Elephants and Mount Kilimanjaro
Amboseli hugs the Tanzanian border and makes for one of Kenya’s most dramatic photo opportunities – herds of elephant lumbering past with Mount Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. The park is famous for them and groups of up to 100 are not uncommon.
Aside from this, however, some find Amboseli a disappointment. The landscape is, for the most part, dry, flat and unappealing, and during my visit there were other tourist vehicles at almost every turn.
There are plentiful buffalo, giraffe and zebra here and predators are also found. I missed out on lions on my visit, but I did see a cheetah and plenty of hyenas. The flat open landscape makes animals easy to spot.
Guaranteed Wildlife-Viewing at the Foot of Kilimanjaro
Amboseli has instant likeability and although it can be crowded with game-viewing vehicles, there are plenty of good reasons for its popularity. For a start, it’s a straightforward drive from Nairobi via the A109 and C102 roads. Once there, it’s easily navigable and there’s a great choice of accommodation, from Kenya Wildlife Service campsites to 5-star safari lodges. More importantly, animals are everywhere and well used to vehicles, and there’s a variety of landscapes from sandy dust bowls with endless horizons to glistening lakes and swamps fringed with lush foliage. Highlights for me are watching the (many) elephant and buffalo half-submerged in the reed beds of the marshes, thousands of tail-flicking herbivores scattered across the open plains around Ol Tukai, and views of the emerald-green Enkongo Narok Swamp from the top of Observation Hill. Predator numbers are lower than in some parks, but they are there, so look hard – I’ve seen a lioness escort her young from a thicket
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to drink in a stream and a family of cheetah emerge from the woods to eye up prey on the savannah. While animal action is guaranteed, the sight of Kilimanjaro is not – except for occasional glimpses at sunrise and sunset, the formidable mountain is usually shrouded in a thick shawl of cloud.Elephants in the Shadow of Africa’s Highest Peak
Amboseli National Park doesn’t need an introduction. It’s all about Kilimanjaro and big tuskers, preferably all at once. I was hopeful when we woke up to a clear silhouette of Kibo peak, thinking it would be easy to get that killer shot – elephants walking single file in front of Africa’s highest mountain. Think again! Elephants obligingly approached us as we lined ourselves up but, as you can expect in one of Kenya’s most iconic parks, about 30 other vehicles joined us in a wink. It’s a matter of shoving, pushing and cutting each other off…a game we’re not into. We left the circus and downgraded to zebras in front of Kili.
Because the park is very busy, lions are relatively easy to spot in the open grassland. It’s a direct result of many cars being out and about. Once the lions have been found, the guides share the location on the radio and even without a radio, you’ll see the traffic jam from a distance. Because of the crowds, the big cats tend to stay
Because the park is very busy, lions are relatively easy to spot in the open grassland. It’s a direct result of many cars being out and about. Once the lions have been found, the guides share the location on the radio and even without a radio, you’ll see the traffic jam from a distance. Because of the crowds, the big cats tend to stay
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a fair distance from the roads, and you might need binoculars to get a good view. The exception is in the rainy season when they often prefer the roads to the wet grass. Cheetahs are less common and there are no leopards in the park (although there are some in the neighboring conservancies).Elephants Under the Snows of Kilimanjaro
Amboseli National Park is one of the classic parks of Kenya and a staple on most Kenyan safari circuits. Quite rightly it’s best known for its elephants and there are large herds of big tuskers here (these are some of the best studied elephants in Africa) who are completely unfazed by cars, meaning very up-close encounters are possible. Amboseli is also where all those classic pictures of elephants with a backdrop of the snows of Mt Kilimanjaro are taken.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Amboseli isn’t one of my favourite parks. Whenever I have been, the park has been something of a hot dust bowl that’s scenically never inspired me much (and I am yet to get the classic views of Kilimanjaro). I know that at the right time it can be green and lush, but aside from the areas of swamp where lots of animals gather, I have never seen it looking like that. Perhaps the other reason I’m not enthralled with Amboseli is because I don’t get wildly excited watching,
So would I recommend a visit to Amboseli? Absolutely yes. Despite me being fairly nonplussed about the park, this is a classic of the Kenyan safari circuit for a very good reason. Most people love elephants and there’s probably no better Kenyan park for the long-nosed ones. It’s also a (relatively) small park, meaning it would be a good one for a family safari.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Amboseli isn’t one of my favourite parks. Whenever I have been, the park has been something of a hot dust bowl that’s scenically never inspired me much (and I am yet to get the classic views of Kilimanjaro). I know that at the right time it can be green and lush, but aside from the areas of swamp where lots of animals gather, I have never seen it looking like that. Perhaps the other reason I’m not enthralled with Amboseli is because I don’t get wildly excited watching,
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or more precisely, photographing, elephants compared to some other animals (elephants are just large grey blobs, whereas I prefer the colours and patterns of zebra, giraffe and the cats) and although there are a lot of other animals in Amboseli, this is really a park that is, above all else, all about elephants.So would I recommend a visit to Amboseli? Absolutely yes. Despite me being fairly nonplussed about the park, this is a classic of the Kenyan safari circuit for a very good reason. Most people love elephants and there’s probably no better Kenyan park for the long-nosed ones. It’s also a (relatively) small park, meaning it would be a good one for a family safari.
Giant Tuskers in the Shadow of Kilimanjaro
I have two dominant images of Amboseli. The first is the spectacular view of snow-capped Kilimanjaro, which most frequently emerges from its cloudy blanket at dusk or dawn. True, Africa’s highest mountain actually lies across the border in Tanzania, but there are few places where it is seen to such advantage as from the plains of Amboseli. The other is the mighty elephants – arguably the most habituated population in East Africa – that range outside the park by night, but aggregate there by day, to forage in a series of lush marshes fed by underground streams that rise on Kilimanjaro. These marshes also support an excellent selection of plovers, herons and other water-associated birds, while on our most recent visit, in 2024, we saw many thousands of flamingos on the open water. Back on terra firma, Amboseli is home to large herds of buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and various antelope. When it comes to big cats, it doesn’t match the Masai Mara, but lion and cheetah are both seen quite
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regularly, though in my experience often at a distance. My one quibble with this park is that it can become quite crowded, with dozens of vehicles sometimes gathering around a good sighting. This is not an issue, however, if you stay in the neighboring Selenkay Conservancy, which is used exclusively by the tented Porini Amboseli Camp.That Postcard…
The instantly recognizable snowcapped peak of Kilimanjaro rises iconically above a scene of emerald greenery in which elephants munch contentedly on flat-topped acacia trees.
We’ve all seen the postcards…
But in reality, although Kili does indeed form a backdrop to Amboseli National Park, I have never actually seen it – and I’ve been to this wildlife reserve on no less than four occasions. More often than not, dust and smoke during the dry season obscure the mountain, turning it into a barely discernible shadow. During the wetter months, clouds can (and do) get in the way.
With or without Kilimanjaro being visible, Amboseli is still an amazing park though, more so for its charismatic and seriously chilled elephants than for anything else.
The relatively small 390km2 reserve is unfenced, and the elephant population is known to spend the majority of its time outside. However, a series of lush green ponds and marshes, created
You’ll often read that predators are rather scarce, but nature is unpredictable, and from my own experience, I have always seen lions and hyenas whenever I go. You’ll also see plenty of other African wildlife, including the usual cadre of zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, and birds.
We’ve all seen the postcards…
But in reality, although Kili does indeed form a backdrop to Amboseli National Park, I have never actually seen it – and I’ve been to this wildlife reserve on no less than four occasions. More often than not, dust and smoke during the dry season obscure the mountain, turning it into a barely discernible shadow. During the wetter months, clouds can (and do) get in the way.
With or without Kilimanjaro being visible, Amboseli is still an amazing park though, more so for its charismatic and seriously chilled elephants than for anything else.
The relatively small 390km2 reserve is unfenced, and the elephant population is known to spend the majority of its time outside. However, a series of lush green ponds and marshes, created
Read more
and fed by Kilimanjaro’s meltwaters, are like magnets to these magnificent beasts, and there’s nothing quite so iconic as seeing them march across Amboseli’s flat and dusty plains in single file on their way for a drink and a mouthful of pond lilies.You’ll often read that predators are rather scarce, but nature is unpredictable, and from my own experience, I have always seen lions and hyenas whenever I go. You’ll also see plenty of other African wildlife, including the usual cadre of zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, and birds.
Elephants!
Amboseli is the location for those classic images of herds of elephants below Mt Kilimanjaro. Having said that, it is surprisingly difficult to get that iconic shot of a cloud-free mountaintop with elephants nicely spaced out in the foreground.
Some of Africa’s last big tusker elephants roam here. I found it a very moving experience being in the company of these majestic wise old bulls. Although present, predators are harder to find, so visit Amboseli for the spectacular landscapes and elephant encounters.
Amboseli has very different terrains, including lush swamps full of waterbirds and chomping elephants, acacia woodland and dry dusty plains.
Amboseli can get very busy with tourist vehicles, so try and avoid the high seasons. As well as the lodges inside the park, there are also Maasai-owned lodges outside the park boundaries, and by staying here you are supporting community-based tourism and incentivising the protection of wildlife.
There are no park fences,
Some of Africa’s last big tusker elephants roam here. I found it a very moving experience being in the company of these majestic wise old bulls. Although present, predators are harder to find, so visit Amboseli for the spectacular landscapes and elephant encounters.
Amboseli has very different terrains, including lush swamps full of waterbirds and chomping elephants, acacia woodland and dry dusty plains.
Amboseli can get very busy with tourist vehicles, so try and avoid the high seasons. As well as the lodges inside the park, there are also Maasai-owned lodges outside the park boundaries, and by staying here you are supporting community-based tourism and incentivising the protection of wildlife.
There are no park fences,