Amboseli is located 228km from Nairobi. The park is famous for its big game and its incredible scenic beauty. The landscape is dominated by the glistening majestic snowcap of Mount Kilimanjaro immediately to the south.
The park itself boasts open plains, extensive stands of yellow-barked acacia woodland, and swamps and marshes, with some rocky lava strewn thorn-bush country. At the western end of the reserve rise the Namanga Hills, or Ol Doinyo Orok.
Amboseli embodies five primary wildlife habitats and the typically dry lakebed of Lake Amboseli. This is one of the best places in Kenya to view elephants, which travel in large herds and are more tolerant of vehicles than the elephants of some other parks. Game also includes lion, leopard, cheetah, maasai giraffe, buffalo, zebra, eland, Coke’s hartebeest, white-bearded gnu, waterbuck, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle and impala. Black rhinos are seen, though occasionally, and in the dry bush country towards Namanga you can find two interesting antelopes: the long-necked gerenuk and the fringe-eared oryx. In addition, you can spot smaller animals like the black faced vervet monkey, yellow baboon, black-backed jackals, spotted hyena and bat-eared foxes, which are often seen basking in the sun outside their dens.
Bird life is in abundance, especially near the lakes and swamps. The Madagascar squacco heron shows up in intervals and the long toed lapwing is a resident in small numbers. Birds of prey include the six species of vultures, the Taita falcon and the southern banded harrier eagle.
The park itself boasts open plains, extensive stands of yellow-barked acacia woodland, and swamps and marshes, with some rocky lava strewn thorn-bush country. At the western end of the reserve rise the Namanga Hills, or Ol Doinyo Orok.
Amboseli embodies five primary wildlife habitats and the typically dry lakebed of Lake Amboseli. This is one of the best places in Kenya to view elephants, which travel in large herds and are more tolerant of vehicles than the elephants of some other parks. Game also includes lion, leopard, cheetah, maasai giraffe, buffalo, zebra, eland, Coke’s hartebeest, white-bearded gnu, waterbuck, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle and impala. Black rhinos are seen, though occasionally, and in the dry bush country towards Namanga you can find two interesting antelopes: the long-necked gerenuk and the fringe-eared oryx. In addition, you can spot smaller animals like the black faced vervet monkey, yellow baboon, black-backed jackals, spotted hyena and bat-eared foxes, which are often seen basking in the sun outside their dens.
Bird life is in abundance, especially near the lakes and swamps. The Madagascar squacco heron shows up in intervals and the long toed lapwing is a resident in small numbers. Birds of prey include the six species of vultures, the Taita falcon and the southern banded harrier eagle.
