Reviews of Amboseli (From 11 Acclaimed Safari Experts)

Expert

Emma Gregg –

UK

Visited: Multiple times

Emma is an award-winning travel writer for Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Travel Africa magazine and The Independent.

31 people found this review helpful.

Busy park, overlooked by Kilimanjaro

Overall rating

4/5

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Those wonderful photos of Kilimanjaro rising majestically above a thicket of acacia trees, with elephants ambling past and perhaps a hot air balloon floating serenely overheard? They’re taken in Amboseli. Kili’s snowy cap may be much depleted but for me, the sight of the crater still brings on that thrilling buzz of recognition one gets when face to face with any of the world’s great landmarks, from the Statue of Liberty to Victoria Falls.

It’s best not to get too excited about the game-viewing experience in Amboseli though – it’s a small park that’s all too easy to reach from Nairobi and Mombasa, so tourists come here in droves and it’s rare to have a moment of peace without another vehicle in view or in earshot. There are plenty of elephants in Amboseli, along with zebras, giraffes and buffalo, but few predators – local cattle herders have more or less wiped out the lions.

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Expert

Ariadne van Zandbergen –

ZA

Visited: Dry season

Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.

7 people found this review helpful.

Amboseli – an elephant’s playground set against Africa’s highest peak

Overall rating

4/5

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There are few images in Africa as iconic as elephants walking in front of Kilimanjaro. This image, which basically screams ’East Africa’, is in Amboseli National Park. Amboseli, which teems with elephants, lies at the base of Kilimanjaro. ‘How difficult can it be?’, was me thinking as a photographer. I still need to go back sometime, because it is harder than you think. Kilimanjaro is more elusive than most animals. Mostly covered in clouds, you might not actually know it is there during your whole stay.

This very scenic park is great for lots of elephants with some serious big tuskers among them. Although not great for predators, herds of grazers like buffalo and zebra can be found on the grassy plains. The marshy areas are also excellent birding spots.

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Expert

Stuart Butler –

UK

Visited: October

Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.

6 people found this review helpful.

Elephants under the snows of Kilimanjaro

Overall rating

4/5

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Amboseli National Park is one of the classic parks of Kenya and a staple on most Kenyan safari circuits. Quite rightly it’s best known for its elephants and there are large herds of big tuskers here (these are some of the best studied elephants in Africa) who are completely unfazed by cars meaning very up-close encounters are possible. Amboseli is also where all those classic pictures of elephants with a backdrop of the snows of Mt Kilimanjaro are taken.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Amboseli isn’t one of my favourite parks. Whenever I have been the park has been something of hot dust bowl that’s scenically never inspired me much (and I am still yet to get the classic views of Kilimanjaro). I know that at the right time it can be green and lush, but aside from the areas of swamp where lots of animals gather, I have never seen it looking like that. Perhaps the other reason I’m not enthralled with Amboseli is because I don’t get wildly excited watching, or more precisely, photographing, elephants compared to some other animals (elephants are just large grey blobs whereas I prefer the colours and patterns of zebra, giraffe and the cats) and although there are a lot of other animals in Amboseli this is really a park that is above all else all about elephants.

So would I recommend a visit to Amboseli? Absolutely yes. Despite me being fairly non-plussed about the park, this is a classic of the Kenyan safari circuit for a very good reason. Most people love elephants and there’s probably no better Kenyan park for the long-nosed ones. It’s also a (relatively) small park meaning it would be a good one for a family safari.

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Expert

Philip Briggs –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

6 people found this review helpful.

Giant Tuskers In The Shadow Of Kilimanjaro

Overall rating

4/5

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I have two dominant images of Amboseli. The first is the spectacular view of snow-capped Kilimanjaro, which most frequently emerges from its cloudy blanket at dusk or dawn. True, Africa’s highest mountain actually lies across the border in Tanzania, but there are few places where it is seen to such advantage as from the plains of Amboseli. The other is the mighty elephants – arguably the most habituated population in East Africa – that range outside the park by night, but aggregate there by day, to forage in a series of lush marshes fed by underground streams that rise on Kilimanjaro. These marshes also support an excellent selection of plovers, herons and other water-associated birds, while on our most recent visit, in 2024, we saw many thousands of flamingos on the open water. Back on terra firma, Amboseli is home to large herds of buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and various antelope. When it comes to big cats, it doesn’t match the Masai Mara, but lion and cheetah are both seen quite regularly, though in my experience often at a some distance. My one quibble with this park is that it can become quite crowded, with dozens of vehicles sometimes gathering around a good sighting. This is not an issue, however, if you stay in the neighboring Selenkay Conservancy, which is used exclusively by the tented Porini Amboseli Camp.

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Expert

Dale R Morris –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Dale is a multi-award-winning writer and photographer with more than 500 published magazine articles featured in magazines such as National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa, and CNN Travel.

2 people found this review helpful.

That Postcard…

Overall rating

4/5

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The instantly recognizable snowcapped peak of Kilimanjaro rises iconically above a scene of emerald greenery in which elephants munch contentedly on flat-topped acacia trees.

We’ve all seen the postcards…

But in reality, although Kili does indeed form a backdrop to the Amboseli National Park, I have never actually seen it – and I’ve been to this wildlife reserve on no less than four occasions. More often than not, dust and smoke during the dry season obscure the mountain, turning it into a barely discernable shadow. During the wetter months, clouds can (and do) get in the way.

With or without Kilimanjaro being visible, Amboseli is still an amazing park though, more so for its charismatic and seriously chilled elephants than for anything else.

The relatively small 390km² reserve is unfenced, and the elephant population is known to spend the majority of its time outside. However, a series of lush green ponds and marshes, created and fed by Kilimanjaro’s meltwaters, are like magnets to these magnificent beasts, and there’s nothing quite so iconic as seeing them march across Amboseli’s flat and dusty plains in single file on their way for a drink and a mouthful of pond lilies.

You’ll often read that predators are rather scarce, but nature is unpredictable, and from my own experience, I have always seen lions and hyenas whenever I go. You’ll also see plenty of other African wildlife, including the usual cadre of zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, and birds.

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Expert

Harriet Nimmo –

ZA

Visited: August

Harriet is a zoologist with more than 20 years’ experience. She has the privilege of working with the world’s top wildlife photographers and photo-guides.

1 person found this review helpful.

Elephants!

Overall rating

4/5

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Amboseli is the location for those classic images of herds of elephants below Mt Kilimanjaro. Having said that, it is surprisingly difficult to get that iconic shot of a cloud-free mountaintop with elephants nicely spaced out in the foreground.
Some of Africa’s last big tusker elephants roam here. I found it a very moving experience being in the company of these majestic wise old bulls. Although present, predators are harder to find, so visit Amboseli for the spectacular landscapes and elephant encounters.
Amboseli has very different terrains, including lush swamps full of waterbirds and chomping elephants, acacia woodland and dry dusty plains.
Amboseli can get very busy with tourist vehicles, so try and avoid the high seasons. As well as the lodges inside the park, there also Maasai-owned lodges outside the park boundaries, and by staying here you are supporting community-based tourism and incentivising the protection of wildlife.
There are no park fences, so the wildlife is free to roam and the waterhole at our community lodge had elephants and other animals coming and going all day.

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