Tsavo
red-dust elephants, lava flows and one of africa's largest wildernesses
About Tsavo
Tsavo is two national parks, Tsavo East and Tsavo West, divided by the Nairobi-Mombasa highway and railway, and together they cover an area larger than some countries. The land is hot and wide: red soil, scattered baobabs, sandy riverbeds and hills that turn blue in the afternoon haze. Even in busy months you can go a long while without seeing another vehicle.
Tsavo's elephants are famous for their colour, rusty red from dust-bathing. Tsavo East has open plains, the Galana River with the rapids of Lugard Falls, and the Yatta Plateau, an ancient lava flow running for hundreds of kilometres. Tsavo West is hillier and greener, with the clear pools of Mzima Springs, where an underwater chamber lets you watch hippos and fish, the black Shetani lava flow, and a fenced rhino sanctuary at Ngulia. Lions, often with thin manes, share the bush with lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx and gerenuk.
The dry seasons from June to October and January to February draw animals to rivers and waterholes. The Madaraka Express stops at Voi and Mtito Andei, and the parks sit between Amboseli and the coast, which makes Tsavo the classic link between a Kilimanjaro-view safari in Amboseli, by way of the Chyulu Hills, and a beach finish at Diani or Mombasa.