Parks & Reserves

National Park – 151 sq miles - Managed by Kenya Wildlife Service

Amboseli National Park features the dramatic backdrop of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and may be best known for its herds of elephants and the ground-breaking research begun by Cynthia Moss in the early 70's. Writer Ernest Hemingway also spent a great deal of time in Amboseli and many of his stories of game hunting are based on his time there. Along with these gentle giants, other plains game such as impala, giraffe, zebra and buffalo as well as predatory lion, leopard and cheetah.

There is a widely-quoted legend that Queen Victoria gave the mountain to her grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm, but the gift to then Tanganyika was part of the 1886 Anglo-German Agreement.

Lake Amboseli is a euphemism, a dry basin of salty sand. Three decades ago, the underground water level rose, bringing with it salty water from the saline soil and killing hundreds of huge yellow-barked "fever trees," a species that still graces the wetter parts of Amboseli.

This seasonal swamp is one of the finest areas in the country for big game photography, attracting a vast population of wildlife. The landscape, with its perched alkaline pan and strange mirages is everywhere dominated by the glistering majestic snow–capped of Mount Kilimanjaro, an extinct volcano of 5,8944m. Known as the “Roof of Africa”.

Amboseli is one of Africa’s best locations for spotting elephant. Predators stalk the herds of grazing animals, recreating the age – old drama of life and death under the African sun, in a setting so lushly beautiful. Amboseli is also home to legendary Maasai tribesmen.

National Park – 72 sq miles- Managed by Kenya Wildlife Service.

Lake Nakuru in the heart of Rift Valley, home to nearly a million flamingos and thousand of white pelican, ibis, plover and over 400 species of birdlife, this has been describe as the greatest ornithological spectacle on earth. A forest of Candelabra euphorbia dominates the rocky hills on the east of the lake, home to baboon, hyrax and reedbuck.

The park is also one of the few places left in Africa where one can observe the endangered rare black rhino alongside its white rhino cousin. Lake Nakuru is famed for its elusive Leopard, lion, the endangered Rothschild giraffe and Cape buffalo among others.

The lake has become world famous for these birds, who visit the lake to feed on algae that forms on the lake bed. They move back and forth, feeding and occasionally and spectacularly taking to flight, filling the sky over the lake with colour.

National Reserve - 583 sq miles - Managed by Local Authorities

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is administered by the local county council. Maasai Mara National Reserve, rich with wildlife, birds, natural flora and stunning scenic beauty.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is the northern part of Tanzania's Serengeti Plains. The same ecosystem is separated only by the unfenced border between Kenya and Tanzania, which 1.5 million wildebeest ignore on their annual migration. Maasai Mara- one of the staging ground for the Great Wildebeest Migration, one of the most awe-inspiring natural events in the world.

Dubbed one of the 7 New wonders of the world, the annual Migration is a natural cycle that replenishes and renews the grasslands of East Africa. Each June, around 1.3 million Wildebeest gather in the Serengeti to calve. They slowly mass into a huge single herd, until the dry season withers their supply of fresh grass. The scent of rain to the North begins to draw the herd throughout July, and soon the planet’s greatest animal migration is underway.

This is one of the remarkable wildlife attractions that make's Kenya one of the best wildlife destinations in the world. Kenya’s most popular attraction, the Mara was awarded its title for its sheer volume and variety of game.

One traveler summed up the appeal of the Maasai Mara Reserve; “This is the total sensory experience holiday. Your senses are constantly stimulated by the sights, smells and sounds of the Mara and its many inhabitants. The thrill of leaving camp at dawn, in search of big cats is an experience that is difficult to repeat.”

There is no better time to visit the Mara than during the Great Migration. The sound of the approaching herd is a deep, primal rumbling of thundering hooves and low grunts. The sight of the wildebeest is staggering- a continuous charging mass that stretches from one horizon to the other this endless grey river of life is mottled with black and white as zebras join the throng. Apart from the seasonal migration, game viewing is excellent year round. Bird enthusiasts will thrill at the prospect of spotting some 400 species of birds recorded in the Mara, at least 53 of them are raptors. Not surprisingly, the romantic safari in Out of Africa was filmed here.

Over the course of the migration, visitors to Kenya will have the opportunity to follow the progress of the herds and experience the full grassland cycle firsthand.

In the Maasai Mara, Africa’s largest concentrations of predators are drawn to this perfect opportunity for easy hunting. Lions are frequently seen attacking the herds - especially at night- dragging down straggling individuals.

At the same time, packs of Hyena freely weave throughout the herds, singling out and separating the young and the weak. Predators are not the only obstacles that the wildebeest face. Kenya’s heavy rainfall in the highland Mau escarpment has turns the Mara River into a raging torrent.

As happens each year, the herds will gather at the banks in preparation for the most perilous stretch of their journey. As sheer pressure builds, the herds are finally forced to surge into the river, often hurling themselves off high banks.

In the struggle across the Mara River, many are drowned or swept away by strong currents. The crossing attracts massive crocodiles who each year awaits this season of bounty. By September the herds will begin reaching their goal, and spreading out to graze across the expanse of the Mara.

For this beautiful game reserve, it is a time of renewal, as the dung from the visiting herds fertilizes the plains. October will see the herds turn southward and repeat the same journey back to the Serengeti, where the renewed grasslands await.

The Migration is the planet’s last great epic of life and death. Of all the calves born in the Serengeti, two out of three will never return from their first and most demanding migration.

It is this inextricable binding of renewal and sustenance, feast and famine, life and death that makes this event one of nature’s greatest wonders. Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve has a wide range of accommodation and travel options. There are luxury lodges, exclusive tented camps, campsites and more available.

The migration can be experienced on early morning game drives in customized vehicles, walking safaris with Maasai Warrior guides, horseback safaris in areas surrounding the Mara, or even from hot air Balloon safaris over the herds.

National Reserve- 87 sq miles- Managed Local Authorities.

Samburu National Reserve, locatedin thenorthern part of Kenya, offers a different landscape and quite different animals. Samburu itself is only 87 square miles, but it is adjacent to Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserve, all three established by the Adamson family -Joy, George, and George's brother, Terence, and the Elsa Trust, founded with royalties from the book Born Free.

The Ewaso Ngiro River flows through three great northern reserves, Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba. The semi-arid landscape is rather dramatic, with the rugged granite outcrop known as Mt. Ololokwe gleaming in the African sun.

The Samburu region is the best place to find several endemic Northern species, including Gerenuk, the Reticulated Giraffe, and Grevy’s Zebra.

The forests along the river banks are home to over 300 species of birdlife, including local species such as the Palm Nut Vulture and the Vinaceous Dove. These forests are also home to many Leopards, often seen at dusk. The sight of one of these beautiful and elusive creatures is always a rare treat. Lions are also frequently seen on the riverbanks, and Cheetah can be found on the open plains. On rare occasion, packs of African Hunting Dogs are sighted passing through the reserve.

Shaba was where Joy Adamson, author of Born Free spent her final years, returning a leopard to the wild. This was the subject of her final book, Queen of Shaba.

More recently, Shaba served as the location for the hit series Survivor Africa, which pitted its contestants against the challenges of this wild remote country.

It’s also here in the Samburu game reserve where a Lioness baffled wildlife experts by adopting a baby oryx, - a kind of small antelope normally preyed upon by big cats.

The Samburu culture is a truly fascinating one, sharing a great deal of ancestral and linguistic ties to the Maasai.

The Samburu are herders of Camels and Goats, and are often seen on the reserve boundaries bringing their animals to water.

In areas around the reserves, there are several private sanctuaries working closely with the Samburu to protect both their tribal lands and the local wildlife. These sanctuaries are open to guests, and are well worth visiting for those interested in Samburu culture.

The entire Samburu region is a place of breathtaking and magical beauty, a place where the vision of a deep red sunset silhouetting the doum palms along the river as a leopard emerges to hunt brings the perfect end to a day on safari.

National Park – 4,535 sq miles- Managed by Kenya Wildlife Service

Tsavo-East is one of Kenya’s oldest and largest National Parks: covering approx. 40 per cent of the total area of all Kenya’s National Parks. Its beautiful landscape and proximity to the coast make it a popular safari destination. It is accredited as one of the world’s leading biodiversity strongholds, bushy grassland and open plains alternate with semi-arid acacia scrub and woodlands. Green swathes cross the park where the river banks give raise to lush vegetation. North of Galana is a true wilderness. A number of leading tour guides offers private safaris across this area, camel safaris are a feature.

Tsavo-East is recommended for photographers with its fabulous light and unbelievable views, in particular the Mudanda Rock and the Yatta Plateau, the world’s largest lava flow. Lugard Fall on the Galana River are remarkable for the shaped water-worn rocks.

Game includes: elephant, lion, leopard, crocodile, waterbuck, kudu, gerenuk and zebra and Hunter’s Hartebeest can be seen with its lyre-shaped horns. Home to some of the largest herds in Kenya, the elephants glow red after dust baths, blowing the vivid red dust through their trunks over their bodies.

Some 450 bird species have been recorded in the area, including ostrich and some migratory kestrels, while buzzards stop at Tsavo-East during their long flight south.

National Park- 3,496 sq miles – Managed by Kenya Wildlife Service

The park is a vast expanse of savanna stretching from Mtito Andei, along the Mombasa-Nairobi road and south to the Tanzanian border. The North Eastern boundary along the Highway adjoins Tsavo East National Park, but Tsavo West has a more varied topography and a more diverse array of habitats than its neighbour.

There are numerous rocky outcrops and ridges and part of the park, towards the Chyulu Hills, is of recent volcanic origin with lava flows and ash cones including the Shetani lava flow, an example of a recent volcano.

In the far south western corner on the Kenya Tanzania border is Lake Jipe, part of which is in the park. This very attractive lake is fed by runoff from Mt. Kilimanjaro and the North Pare mountains.

At Mzima Springs, in the North of the park, water that has filtered underground from the Chyulu Hills gushes from below a lava ridge into a series of clear pools.

Tsavo is famed for its Lions (The 1996 movie "The Ghost and the Darkness" was based on Patterson's adventures in Tsavo about two Lions that terrorised a railway construction crew.)

In March 1898 the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in East Africa. Over the next nine months, two large male lions killed and ate nearly 140 railway workers. Crews tried to scare off the lions and built campfires and thorn fences for protection, but to no avail. Hundreds of workers fled Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge.

Before work could resume, chief engineer Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson (1865-1947) had to eliminate the lions and their threat. After many near misses, he finally shot the first lion on December 9, 1898, and three weeks later brought down the second. The first lion killed measured nine feet, eight inches (3 m) from nose to tip of tail. It took eight men to carry the carcass back to camp. The construction crew returned and completed the bridge in February 1899.

Later in 1900 the notorious “Man Eaters of Tsavo” man-eating lions preyed on the railway linesman building the great Uganda Railway in 1900. The carriage from which they pulled a traveler is on display in Nairobi Railway Museum. Tsavo-West has important historic connections as a major battleground in World War I where British and Germany troops battled for supremacy

It offers tremendous views with diverse habitats ranging from mountains, river forest, plains, lakes and wooded grassland. Its plains border with Tanzania. Game includes: leopard, cheetah, buffalo, black rhino, elephant, giraffe, lesser kudu, waterbuck, eland, gerenuk, impala, zebra, lion, plains game, crocodile and small mammals including mongoose, hyrax, dik dik and the nocturnal porcupine.

Birdlife is prolific, one of the most conspicuous is the white-headed buffalo weaver, brownish-black and white with a vivid red rump when it flies. Starlings are numerous including the rare but duller Fischer's starling, hornbills are also prevalent. Birds of prey include, bustards, sunbirds and weaver-birds are well represented. Hole nesting birds include parrots, barbets and rollers.

It is an excellent park for visitors who enjoy walking, offering a number of nature trails and the opportunity to explore the Chaimu volcanic crater and guides are available.

Mzima Springs is a star attraction, a pool of natural spring water with underwater viewing hides for observing hippos.

Lake Manyara, one of Tanzania's smallest and most diverse national parks, bordered by the dramatic Western Escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara is notable for its abundant birdlife, diverse vegetation, tree-climbing lions, and hippos among others. Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. Located on the way to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, Lake Manyara National Park is well worth a stop in its own right. Lake Manyara covers an area of 127 sq miles, of which up to 77 Sq miles is lake when water levels are high.

The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience. Its ground water forests, bush plains, baobab strewn cliffs, and algae-streaked hot springs offer incredible ecological variety in a small area, rich in wildlife and incredible numbers of birds.

Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants and storks. Even reluctant bird-watchers will find something to watch and marvel at within the national park.

Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes – some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.

Lake Manyara’s famous legendary tree-climbing lions are another reason to pay this park a visit. The only kind of their species in the world, they make the ancient mahogany and elegant acacias their home during the rainy season, and are a well-known but rather rare feature of the northern park. In addition to the lions, the national park is also home to the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world -- a fact that makes for interesting game viewing of large families of the primates.

Mahale Mountain National Park is home to chimpanzees, located in Western Tanzania, bordering Africa's longest and deepest, Lake Tanganyika and covers an area of 623 miles. While not as well known as Jane Goodall's Gombe River Stream Park, Mahale is preferred because there are fewer human visitors.

Mahale Mountains, like its northerly neighbour Gombe Stream, is home to some of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees: a population of roughly 800, habituated to human visitors by a Japanese research project founded in the 1965. Tracking the chimps of Mahale is a magical experience.

The area is also known as Nkungwe, after the park's largest mountain, held sacred by the local Tongwe people and at 8,069 ft the highest of the six prominent points that make up the Mahale Range.

And while chimpanzees are the star attraction, the slopes support a diverse forest fauna, including readily observed troops of red colobus, red-tailed and blue monkeys, and a kaleidoscopic array of colourful forest birds.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is situated some 118 miles west of Arusha, between Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks. Covering approximately 3,200 square miles, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area consists of the Ngorongoro Crater itself, the Olduvai Gorge, the Empakai crater and the Oldonyo Lengai Mountain. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a pioneering experiment in multi-purpose land use where the diverse interests of wild animals, plants and people are being integrated. Wild animals are protected as in the National parks. The craters of Ngorongoro and Empakai are reserved exclusively for wildlife, while the rest of the Conservation Area is shared by wildlife, people and livestock.

Ngorongoro was once a gigantic volcano, perhaps taller than Kilimanjaro. Today, its peak collapsed into a caldera, it is an extensive highland area with the spectacular 600m deep crater as its focal point. Apart from being one of Africa’s scenic wonders, and having approachable wildlife that it’s sometimes derogatorily labeled a ‘zoo’, Ngorongoro has diverse habitats and micro-climates. The rim is at an altitude of 7,500 feet, so be prepared for cool temperatures and clouds that roll over the rim like a waterfall in slow motion.

About 2.5 million years ago the young Ngorongoro Volcano became filled with molten rock that subsequently solidified into a crust or roof. As lava chamber emptied, the solid domed collapsed and thus was formed the largest perfect caldera in the world that has its wall intact (12 miles wide, 610-760 deep and covering 102 sq miles). The Ngorongoro Crater is a UNESCO protected “World Heritage Site” and one of Africa’s best- known wildlife arenas. The sight of the Ngorongoro Crater is simply stunning. “There is nothing with which to compare. It is one of the wonders of the world…” once wrote Professor Bernard Grzimek.  An utterly unique International biosphere reserve, the crater harbors grasslands, swamps, forests, saltpans, a fresh water lake and glorious variety of birdlife, all enclosed within its towering walls. In addition to the Big Five the crater hosts up to 30,000 large mammals. Most are grazers, of which wildebeest and zebra comprise almost half, the rest warthog, gazelle, eland, kongoni etc. As a result of these extraordinarily large numbers of herbivores, the crater also numbers one of the densest predators’ populations in Africa, most of which are lion, cheetah and hyena.

And if the mix of big game and birdlife hasn’t made you giggle yet, head to the freshwater pools in the crater where you’ll see a range of a cranes and ducks, including migratory garganey and European shoveller, squeezed in among the abundant hippos.

Located in south-east Tanzania in a remote and little-visited part of the country, the Selous Game Reserve is Africa’s largest protected wildlife reserve and covers more than 5% of Tanzania’s total area. Selous Game Reserve covers an area of 33,926 sq miles.  Its home to roaming elephant populations, the area’s famous wild dogs, and some of the last black rhino left in the region. Due to its remote location, and because it is most easily accessible only by small aircraft, the Selous Game Reserve has remained one of the untouched gems of Tanzania’s national parks and game reserves, and offers visitors a chance to see a wild and expansive Africa far from tarmac roads and gift shops.

Selous Game Reserve was named after Frederick Courteney Selous, a British explorer and hunter in East Africa who wrote a book about the region and his travels, and was tragically killed in land now named after him during the First World War. In 1905, when few people in East Africa thought of land conservation and the preservation of wildlife for posterity, portions of the area were earmarked for a hunting reserve. In 1922, the land area was increased and named after Frederick Selous. From then until 1975, when the current boundaries were delineated, the Selous Game Reserve increased steadily in allocated land. These days, tourists flock to the north of the reserve, while large portions of the south are still reserved for hunting.

The Rufiji River Delta is a striking feature of the game reserve. It connects the Great Ruaha River with the Rufiji River and not far from the park boundaries empties out into the Indian Ocean along the Tanzanian Coast. The Rufiji River is the largest water catchment locations in the region, and as such, is home to a plethora of varied water and bird life. Along its shores, oppulent hippos sleep languidly in the mud and sun themselves, mouths wide open, as the river passes by. Crocodiles are also common along the Rufiji’s riverbanks, their armour plated skins the only rough edges in the rivers incessant flow. Stiggler’s Gorge, where the Great Ruaha River meets the Rufiji River, is a breathtaking example of the diversity and spectacular scenery along the game reserve's waterways.

The Selous is unique among Tanzania’s more renowned preserved areas because it is a game reserve, not a national park, and therefore a larger range of activities are permitted. Boating safaris are becoming a popular alternative to vehicle-based trips, and offer visitors a chance to see the diverse life along the Rufigi River up close in all its splendour. Hiking safaris and fly camping are also ideal ways to explore the country and add a bit of adventure to your African experience.

Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best – known wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and scientific value. Serengeti National Park has area of 5,700 sq miles, is as Northern Ireland, which includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Maswa Game Reserve and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve (in Kenya), is roughly the size of Kuwait. It lies between the shore of Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyasi in the south, and the Great Rift Valley to the east. As such, it offers the most complex and least disturbed ecosystem on earth.

The name Serengeti derived from the Maasai language it means endless plains, these vast plains are the origins of the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth, the migration of over a million wildebeest to the Maasai Mara plains in Kenya. Pursued by hungry predators, this becomes a struggle of life and death that only the Serengeti and Maasai Mara are honoured to host.

 A unique combination of diverse habitats enables it to support more than 30 species of large herbivores and nearly 500 species of birds. Its landscape, originally formed by volcanic activity, has been sculptured by the concerted action of wind, rain and sun. It varies from open grass plains in the south, savannah in the north, to extensive woodland and black clay plains to the west. Small rivers, lakes and swamps are scattered throughout and the rock outcrops called kopjes. In the south- east rise the great volcanic massifs and craters of the Ngorongoro Highlands. Each area has its own particular atmosphere and wildlife.

When drought sets in, Serengeti is the site of one of the most breathtaking events in the animal kingdom - the migration of thousands of wildebeest heading southwest, north or west in search of water and greener pastures, a million wildebeest... each one driven by the same ancient rhythm, fulfilling its instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life: a frenzied three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating; survival of the fittest as 25 miles long columns plunge through crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus north; replenishing the species in a brief population explosion that produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 600 miles pilgrimage begins again.

Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, herds of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle and African great predators; lion, leopard and cheetah. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat. And even small mammals such as Gaudy agama lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park’s isolated granite koppies.

The Serengeti’s climate is usually warm and dry. The main rainy season is from March to May, with short rains falling from October to November. The amount of rainfall increases from about 508 mm on the plains in the lee of Ngorongoro Highlands to about 1,200 mm on the shores of Lake Victoria. All is lush and green after the rains, but gradual drying up follows which restricts plants growth and encourages animals to migrate in search of permanent waters. With altitudes ranging from 920 to 1,820 metres, mean temperatures vary from 15 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius

The Serengeti was made a partial Game Reserve in 1921 and a full one in 1929. It was expanded and upgraded to a National Park in 1951.

Tarangire National Park is located 75 miles southwest of Arusha. This park is second only to Ngorongoro crater in its concentration of wildlife during the dry season, with  the highest population density of elephants anywhere in Tanzania, and its sparse vegetation, strewn with baobab and acacia trees, makes it a beautiful and special location. Tarangire National Park has an area of 1,560 sq miles.

Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It's the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem - a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.

The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 500 bird species, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world

On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world's largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys.

More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.