The Amboseli National Park in Kenya is located northwest of the tallest mountain in Africa Mt. Kilimanjaro, bordering Tanzania.
This amazing Park covers more than 395 square kilometers. The park is managed by the elite of Kenya’s national parks.
It is the top-ranked tourist destination in Africa. The elephants at this National Park are in their thousands.
The park is well situated for optimal wildlife viewing near Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain has the highest peak in Africa and is located in the southern boundary of Amboseli.
The cloud cover at the hill makes the peak invisible for a better part of the daytime. Still, tourists have an incredible viewing when the weather is clear, most of the time at dawn and dusk.
There are other animals in the park aside from the famous big tusked elephants.
They include wildebeests, zebras, lions, cheetahs, and hyenas. The park is also home to more than 370 bird species.
Attractions at the Amboseli National Park
The park is famous for its abundant wildlife which is available during
the dry seasons.
This is the reason why Amboseli is a top tourist destination.
Amboseli is situated in a place enclosed by six jointly owned farms.
The park comprises five major wildlife environments including open savannahs, acacia woods, rocky bushy thorns, marshes, and swampland.
It extends to part of a Pleistocene lake basin, which has recently dried.
The park is renowned for hosting the big five animals, its incredible picturesque beauty, and the setting of the park on the immense landscape of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Elephant Research Camp
The elephant research camp of Amboseli is ranked among the most studied elephant research works in the world,
Dr. Cynthia Moss, who wrote the book Amboseli Elephants and Elephant Memories has majorly contributed to this.
The other famous elephant conservancy is the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi.
The Amboseli Elephant Research Project was started by Dr. Cynthia Moss together her colleague Harvey Croze in 1972.
They chose Amboseli because the elephants were undisturbed by the fact that the park was not fenced in.
The animals were freely moving in the ecosystem, and there were no many poachers then.
They had the intention to gather baseline data on the biology of a natural population. What was crucial was to study individual elephants over time.
To date, they are following some of the same individuals they met back in 1972 as well as all the elephants in Amboseli National Park that have been born since the camp was started.
Much of what is known today about elephants is based on the studies done at the camp.
Normitior Observation Hill
The Normitior Observation Hill allows the tourists to have an overall view of the entire park, including the swamps and the enormous elephants in Amboseli National Park.
The swampy area below the observation hill is where most of the animals gather.
The animals include elephants, hippos, buffaloes, and a diversity of waterfowl such as the pelican.
This pyramid-like hill is one of the only areas in the park where you can
get out and walk.
The high-level meeting offers an ideal observation from which to familiarize yourself with the plains, swamps, and roads below.
This is a continuation of the Duluth Traverse, linking Observation Road that is the paved road with Twin Ponds which is the city park.
The nearest parking area is situated at the Twin Ponds parking area.
After the parking lot climb the beamed switch back to a high viewing point at the top of the hill, the highest point on the trail makes it possible the most significant viewpoint in the park, hence the name, Observation Hill.
The last 1,000-meter long trail is a slalom through the woodlands down to the road. Between the viewpoint and the fun aspects of the track, this section should not be avoided when hiking the Anger Trail of the Duluth Traverse.
Wildlife
Amboseli has more than 80 species of different mammals ranging from the small and not ordinary spectacled elephant to the enormous big tusked elephant.
Tourists in Amboseli cannot go home without elephant pictures and a beautiful Kilimanjaro as the background.
There is a record of more than 400 bird species in the park.
Mount Kilimanjaro, which is Africa’s highest mountain, offers spots to watch Amboseli wildlife.
Amboseli Park has a Pleistocene lake basin that is a seasonal lake; Lake Amboseli, which forms when it rains, and animals that tend to gather around the area.
The sparse vegetation in the park offers the most excellent opportunities to watch some of the Big Five animals.
The park hosts animals such as the elephant, wildebeests, lion, cheetah, wildebeest, buffalo, and zebra.
How to get to Amboseli National Park
The road that easily accesses the park is the Nairobi-Namanga road.
It is about 240 kilometers on the Nairobi-Arusha highway, and you get in the park through the Meshanani Gate.
It is a tarmac road up to Namanga, and a murram road starting from Namanga to Meshanani Gate around 75 kilometers long.
The other alternative road to the park is through Emali, approximately 228 KM on the Nairobi- Mombasa highway.
The route is tarmacked up to Emali and a murram stretch starting from Emali to Remito Gate about 64 kilometers away.
Amboseli is also accessed from Mombasa through Tsavo West through Kimana Gate.
The park also has an airstrip situated in the Empusel gate. There is also an airstrip for light aircraft located at the Park Headquarters Olekelunyiet.
The other airfields are located in the Kilimanjaro Buffalo Lodge and even Namanga town.
Accommodation at the Amboseli National Park
Amboseli offers a variety of accommodation that is suitable for all budgets, preferences, and interests.
There are available campsites where tourists can pitch tents; well-appointed safari lodges; luxurious tented camps; big, fully furnished camps; small secluded camps for your private use, and much more.
Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge has professional, friendly staff, and it is well situated which makes it a reliable lodge while touring this Park.
This is our most recommended lodge because they offer the best service.
Check out our current safari offers to Amboseli National Park and contact our safari experts to book now.
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