Amboseli National Park

Amboseli is the place to go if you want to see elephants. We saw so many elephants and up very close. It was unbelievable. There were many baby elephants too, which were really cute. It was fun watching them playing in the mud and washing themselves. The road to Amboseli is fantastic - new tarmac road the whole way and completely free of traffic.

Many elephants to see

The amazing feeling you get by standing in the midst of a herd of wild Elephants...

Amboseli is a pretty nice park for game-drives. It is not the park you want to visit if you have to see the "big five", because you won't find any rhinos or leopards here. But if you want to experience the incredible feeling you get when 20-30 huge african elephants silently passes by your car, this park is for you. If you are lucky you may get the oppurtunity to get a glympse of the largest free-standing mountain in the world, Kilimanjaro. The mountain is oft visible in the morning or evening hours. Though Amboseli is several miles away from the top, it still amazes hugely.

As for accomodation I can highly recommend Kibo Safari Camp. This is a luxury tented lodge, minutes from Kimana Gate. The staff, food, location etc. were excellent.

Per March 2015 the park were not overcrowded by cars, but only a few. This is much because of the reduction in tourism Kenya is experiencing. I personally prefer not to be part of a swarm of buzzing Toyotas when on game-drives, but rather have the oppurtunity to feel like in the only man-made creation in sight. This enables one to connect with the wildlife and nature in a special way. Nothing beats the sense of peace you get when the driver switches of the engine, and all you hear is Amboseli herself.

Wildlife is not so abundant as in Mara, but the scenery is bery beautiful.

Amboseli National Park - My favorite park in Kenya

Love the landscape views and Elephants during game drives as well as from the Lodge. (Ol Tukai Lodge).

Kili in the back

my most memoral memory of Amboseli are the elephants with the Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. Looks like a travel in time.

snow capped Kilimanjaro

Very Beautiful National park with view of mount Kilimanjaro........Sight of grazing elephants in the grass land with scenic background. it has beautiful birds like crowned crane, Kori bustard, white bellied bustard and many birds....a lovely place indeed. Ol tukai......is nice place to stay in Amboseli NP

Beautiful Wildlife Haven

I visited Amboseli outside of the typical tourist season. The advantage of that is that I saw very few other vehicles/tourists throughout the park. The downside is that there's also fewer animals around. That being said though, I saw a wide range of wildlife and the landscape was green and beautiful. I saw many, many elephants, oftentimes very deep in the swamps. I also saw lots of hippos poking their heads above the swamps. There were also lots of varieties of antelopes, zebras, buffalos, ostriches, giraffes, hyenas, many different kinds of birds, and probably many more I'm forgetting to list right now. Amboseli is a wonderful haven for all these animals, and the landscape is very beautiful. It is smaller than some of the other parks in Kenya, but it is truly a wonderful place to see Kenya's incredible wildlife.

Good overall experience in Amboseli National Park

My visit to Amboseli National Park aimed to accomplish two objectives: see large herds of elephants in the open and view Mt. Kilimanjaro. Anything extra was considered a bonus for me because I was going to visit Serengeti National Park for other wildlife opportunities. I can confidently say that these objectives were met and I did end up getting what I would call "bonus material".

First, the elephant herds were very large and easy to spot. There were herds of more than 20 elephants. Since these elephants have been well protected from poachers, there are many mature elephants with very large tusks. If you are into elephants, this is the place to go.

Second, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I enjoy mountain scenery and always have high hopes of good mountain viewing. Unfortunately, I was only able to view Kili in the very early morning hours. The remainder of the day it was shrouded in clouds. While that was mildly disappointing, I was grateful to have seen it. When the mountain was visible, it did not disappoint. What makes this a unique viewing opportunity is that Kilimanjaro is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. There are no other dominant mountains or foothills around it.

Other wildlife was easily visible in the park because of the vast open plains. There were few predator sightings; although, I did manage to see a few hyenas and jackals. There are lions in the park, but are seldom seen. The wildlife in Amboseli National Park does not teem with animals on the scale of Masai Mara or Serengeti. Again, as previously stated, this park specializes in elephants and you would be hard pressed to find other destinations that offer the abundance of opportunities to get clear views of elephants.

The weather in the park was what one should expect from African plains. It was very warm with abundant sunshine most of the day. There were brief periods of higher humidity followed by a short rain. That did not negatively impact the safari experience.

The transportation in the park is quite easy. The park is much smaller than Serengeti or Masai Mara, making it easy to see the entire park in a couple of days. The roads were in good condition while I was there in November.

I stayed in a campground just outside the park. The accommodations were comfortable and the food was good. However, I will say that I am quite low maintenance when it comes to food and lodging.

My safari guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He knew his wildlife species well and he would drive to specific locations when I asked him. He also asked me questions about the specific things that I wanted to see so that he could ensure that my experience was exactly what I was looking for.

Overall, I would highly recommend Amboseli National Park as a safari destination. It is a convenient place for those who are on their way from Nairobi to Arusha for additional safari tours. Furthermore, it is difficult to find better places to view Mt. Kilimanjaro and find elephant herds as large as those found in Amboseli.

Elephant Haven and Kilimajaro the best !

This is a wonderful park for elephants and for wetland birdlife. The sunset views of Kilimanjaro and the elephants in the foreground are quintessential Africa