Chyulu Hills National Park

Chyulu Hills: Green Hills of Africa

Chyulu Hills National Park is one of Kenya’s most troubled parks. Each time I visit, I see more livestock within the park’s boundaries than I do wildlife – a few scampering Sykes’ monkeys are about it. The scenery iss lovely (the Chyulus were Hemingway’s ‘Green Hills of Africa’) and there is rarely another vehicle in sight (I have often been the only paying visitor to the park). But if you’re talking about Chyulu Hills as an ecosystem, then that’s a different story. Two outstanding lodges – Ol Donyo and Campi ya Kanzi – occupy the mountains’ western flanks (which are actually outside the park boundaries) and run fabulous conservation programs with strong ties to local Maasai communities). On this side of Chyulu Hills, I’ve always enjoyed fine views of Mount Kilimanjaro, and spent time tracking lions, leopards and elephants. There’s also a small, heavily protected rhino population here.