Guide to Kenya’s National Parks

Kenya is home to over 40 national parks and wildlife reserves, all of which are set aside for the conservation of wildlife and natural habitat. Below is a run down of the most popular parks in the country.

Masai Mara National Park

The most popular safari destination in Kenya, the reserve is home to countless species including the ‘big five’ and stages the Great Wildebeest Migration.

Aberdare National Park

This park is home to part of the Aberdare mountain range, an area of natural beauty. It is full of rich vegetation, clear streams, waterfalls and lakes, along with unique fauna and flora, creating an ideal habitat for a wide variety of mammals and birds. Elephants and rhinos, roam the park and other residents include leopards, spotted hyenas and bongos.

Samburu National Reserve & Buffalo Springs

Samburu National Reserve and Buffalo Springs started life as one park but are now adjacent to each other. The Ewaso Nyiro River runs through both reserves and in parts acts as border between them. Samburu is not as well known as some of the other national parts in Kenya and therefore is less crowded. The dramatic and rugged landscape is home to the colourful Samburu people. Game includes species rarely seen elsewhere, such as Grevy’s zebras and reticulated giraffes and the Somali ostrich.

Shaba National Reserve

Situated very close to Samburu National Reserve. Shaba has reserved its place in the history of conservation as the area where Joy Adamson released the first of the hand-reared leopards. The nearby Ewaso Nyiro River supports a variety of captivating wildlife.

Mount Kenya National Park

Mount Kenya, Kenya’s highest mountain, sits astride the equator with its snow-capped summit rising to nearly 5200 metres. The vegetation alters dramatically, from bamboo jungle and mountain forests to glaciers and snowfields. The forests are home to elephants, and prolific birdlife.

Meru National Park

Close to the equator to the northeast of Nairobi. The park is famous as the area where Joy Adamson raised lion cub, Elsa and orphaned cheetahs. The permanent streams offer an environment of tall grasses and dense swamps. This can make it challenging to spot wildlife, but a wide range including elephants, hippos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, reticulated giraffes and zebras reside here.

Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park

Combined, these parks cover an area the size of Wales, forming one of the world’s largest game sanctuaries. Tsavo East is famous for its large number of elephants and spectacular herds of buffaloes that roam across the open savanna. Tsavo West, in contrast, has very dramatic landscape with extinct volcanoes, rocky outcrops, mountains, river forests and plains. The ‘big five’ can be found along with a range of antelope species.

Amboseli National Park

A popular national park with a spectacular backdrop of the impressive Mount Kilimanjaro. It is home to an abundance of mammals and over 400 species of birds. The flat and dusty landscape provides good opportunities to see a large variety of wildlife including buffaloes, lions, gazelles, cheetahs, wildebeest, zebras and large herds of elephants.

Lake Naivasha

Over 450 species of birds have been recorded in and around this freshwater lake, with the highest concentration between October and March, when migrating birds from Europe are resident. The shores of the lake are fringed with papyrus and yellow-barked acacia tress. A range of plain game is often spotted.

Lake Nakuru National Park

The park is renowned for one of the most spectacular images in Kenya, as thousand of pink flamingoes are often attracted to the alkaline lake. The fenced park also provides sanctuary to one of the largest populations of rhinos in Kenya, plus lions, Rothchild giraffes and leopards.