Tsavo East National Park

 The Tsavo East National Park is a huge 13,000 square kilometers park, impressive and famous for its many lions and elephants. Founded in 1948, it is one of the oldest National Parks in the country. Here you cruise the outstretched savannah of the Yatta Plateau, while large groups of elephants walk these red dusty plains. En route you pass a spectacular amount of other animals. Four members of the Big Five (lions, buffalo’s, leopards & elephants) live here, together with zebras, African wild dogs, cheetahs, antilopes, impalas and more.

For the longest time, only animals and small local tribes inhabited this part of country. In the 1890s, however, the British began a concerted effort to colonise the interior of Kenya. They built a railway through Tsavo to connect Mombasa and Nairobi. The land was vast and not good for cultivation. This is why the government decided to make it a national park in 1948. This made room for elephants and rhinos to thrive and be safe from poaching.

Interesting detail: two lions terrorised the railway construction crew for weeks and killed one hundred and thirty five workers before they were shot. This is why Tsavo is still famous for its man-eating lions. But rest assured, although there are over a hundred lions in Tsavo, this is not the case anymore and safety measures have greatly improved.

Best spots

There are a few spots in Tsavo that are perfect for admiring wildlife: Madunda Rock, Lugard Falls and the Aruba Dam. The 1,6 kilometers rock formation of Madunda allows for great viewing of animals drinking below. Lugard Falls is not an actual waterfall but a series of rapid waters that are filled with hippos and crocs. Last but not least, the Aruba Dam creates a waterbassin in the Voi River that is a favorite drinking spot for many animals. Tsavo East National Park basically has it all!