Set at the northern base of Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli has the most sensational backdrop of any safari destination in East Africa. Wildlife viewing is also superb. The main attraction is the exceptionally habituated elephants that march daily across the park’s dusty plains to forage in a lush labyrinth of permanent swamps. But all the Big Five except rhino are present, along with large herds of grazers, and exceptionally varied birdlife.
Discover Amboseli National Park
Tanzania holds the boasting rights to Kilimanjaro’s 19,341ft Uhuru Peak. But the best views of this iconic extinct volcano are undoubtedly obtained from Amboseli. This might not be apparent when you arrive at Amboseli in the heat of the day and the mountain’s head is high in the clouds. But wait until dusk or dawn, and the clouds will usually lift to reveal Kilimanjaro and its majestic equatorial snow cap towering three miles above the surrounding plains.
The presence of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project, founded in 1975 and now the world’s longest-running study of its kind, has helped spare the park from the worst of the commercial poaching that afflicted East Africa in recent decades. As a result, Amboseli still supports some truly impressive tuskers, and the high level of habituation means there is no finer place to observe elephant behavior and interaction at close quarters.
Other common wildlife includes buffalo, giraffe, hippo, plains zebra, wildebeest, impala and Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles. Lion, leopard and cheetah are also present but less likely to be seen than spotted hyena, which is the commonest large predator.
For birdwatchers, Amboseli’s marshes are highly rewarding, hosting as they do the likes of great white pelican, greater jacana, long-toed lapwing and painted snipe. Amboseli’s bird checklist of 420-plus species also includes plains dwellers such as secretary bird, Hartlaub’s bustard and Pangani longclaw, and dry-country acacia specials such as Von der Decken’s hornbill, red-and-yellow barbet and rosy-patched bush shrike.
