Amboseli

Crowned by Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, Amboseli National Park boasts five entirely different habitats, from the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, to wetlands with sulphur springs, swampy marshlands, savannah grasslands and acacia-dominated woodlands.

Covering almost 400 square kilometres, Amboseli is home to Cape buffalo, zebra, hyena, lion, cheetah, impala, giraffe and wildebeest, among others, and perhaps most famously, large herds of elephant. There are over 600 bird species that are attracted to the lush green wetlands, and the pyramid-shaped Observation Hill offers a perfect birding safari location from which to spot them.

‘Amboseli’ comes from the Swahili word for ‘salty dust’ and you will see why; the white dust makes the huge elephants pale and reflects the sunlight up, offering striking photographic conditions. Lying in the south and bordering Tanzania, Amboseli combines well with a visit to Kenya’s coast or the Mara.