Amboseli Park

What is unique about Amboseli National Park?

What is unique about Amboseli National Park?
The most popular and oldest national park in Kenya is Amboseli, which also has a number of interesting attractions. Renowned for its amazing safari experience and diverse population of elephants against the magnificent vistas of Mount Kilimanjaro, the largest mountain in Africa.
The park is located in southern Kenya, 365 km southeast of Nairobi, and is easily reachable by both air and road transportation. The 39,206 acre Amboseli National Park is located in the centre of an ecosystem that spans 8,000 square kilometres from Kenya to Tanzania. Note that the word “Amboseli” is derived from a Maasai word that refers to the park’s terrain as “salty dust.”
There are several entrances into Amboseli  for tourists, including Kelunyiet, IImeshanan gate, Iremito gate, Kitrua, and Airstrip. Amboseli National Park is well known for housing a large number of wild African elephants that roam free. Supposedly, it owes more than 1000 African elephants.
The park has a fantastic setting with a stunning view of Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing peak in the world. The park is one of the best locations in Kenya, an East African nation, as well as the entire world, to experience a big population of free-roaming elephants in a serene natural setting with a rewarding view of an ice-capped mountain.
Amboseli is a relatively tiny national park in Kenya, with a total area of just 392 square kilometres, yet it has a higher diversity of wildlife species than other national parks in the country. Wetlands that support a variety of species and vegetation make up the park’s terrain. The park’s habitats include woodland, the savannah, marshes, and the now-dry Lake Amboseli. Because of the park’s richness, visitors can see a lot of species in its native habitat throughout the dry season. The park is home to a wide variety of species, including the Big Five Mammals, antelope, leopards, hyenas, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, monkeys, crocodiles, peacocks, and ostriches.

Top sights to see in Kenya Safaris’ Amboseli National Park.

Observation Hill
It’s a pyramid-shaped hill with a rewarding summit that lets visitors go on walking safaris inside the park, where they can enjoy stunning aerial views and take in the beauty of the entire park and its abundance of wildlife. It’s a great vantage point for seeing the beautiful marshes, elephant herds, and grasslands of the park.
Binoculars should be brought when visiting the hill in order to see wildlife up close as it searches for water in the numerous swamps that are located below the summit. The hill is a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists because of its beautiful scenery.

Sinet Delta
In the North of the park, a little distance from observation Hill, is this magnificent delta. A halt that is a paradise for birders and where visitors interested in birdwatching in Amboseli can stop to observe many rare bird species in the park. The area is very bushy and dominated by Acacia trees, which draws a variety of giraffes to it. Additionally, it serves as the ideal vantage point for the magnificent Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak.

Birdwatching
Amboseli National Park is a veritable birdwatcher’s paradise with over 420 different bird species, 47 of which are raptors. The greatest time to go birding in Amboseli park is during the rainy season, from March to May and also around November, when the park is home to migratory bird species. Birds are breeding at this time. Some of the birds that may be seen are water birds, such as pelicans, crakes, kingfishers, and hammertoes. Other species include the Hartlaub’s bustard, Von der Decken’s hornbill, crowned cranes, Pangani, steel-blue whydah Secretary birds, Love birds, Egrets, pelicans, Heron, flamingo, Ostriches, Starlings, a white-bellied flycatcher, Among others, the Taveta golden weaver, Long-toed lapwing, Rufous-bellied heron, Spike-heeled lark, Yellow-necked spur fowl, Lesser flamingo, Eurasian thick-knee, and African swamp hen were named.

Amboseli Park
Birding At Amboseli

Game viewing
This is Amboseli’s most popular tourist destination and activity because the park is well recognised for being a haven for African elephants, which are currently estimated to number approximately 1000 in the area. Aside from elephants, visitors can also view other awe-inspiring African species, such as buffalo, lions, black rhinos, leopards, antelopes, spotted hyenas, peacocks, and baboons.
The best times to see wildlife are at 6:30 in the morning and at 4 in the afternoon after evening coffee because most species start looking for food after the day has cooled from a lot of sun.

Lake Amboseli
Lake Amboseli, from which the park derives its name, has existed on this territory for more than a million years prior to Amboseli National Park receiving its gazette designation. This lake provides water for the park’s wildlife and serves as a lovely shaded area for elephants to sunbathe. The lake’s spray provides a habitat for a variety of park-found swamp bird species.
It is worthwhile to pay a visit to this lake since it is one of the park’s attractions and a thrilling location for game viewing.

Elephants Research camp
All of these wonderful works by Doctor Cynthia Moss, whose books Amboseli Elephants and Elephants Memories are renowned for popularising Kenya as a travel destination around the world, are the reason why Amboseli National Park has developed into one of the world’s leading elephant research projects.
When you travel to Amboseli, you can meet researchers who will discuss their worthwhile work and other relevant matters pertaining to the preservation of elephants.

Scenery
Due to its dryness from being on the leeward side of Mount Kilimanjaro and its saline soils, which do not support the growth of flora, Amboseli National Park has poor vegetation. This is because Kenya has the greatest herd of elephants, which have decimated all the trees and left the ground bare.

Maasai Culture
The Maasai community, which resides near to the park, is one of the few groups that has managed to avoid being influenced by western society and has maintained a wholly traditional way of life. Never leave Amboseli park without speaking to a Maasai, who will captivate you with their dances and distinctive dress.

How to Get there
By Road: You can reach the park via a number of routes.
For a traveller to be able to reach the gate via Isinya and down the Magadi Road in Nairobi, the drive from Nairobi to Meshanani Gate takes 2:30 hours. Depending on the type of vehicle being used, it may take 45 to 60 minutes to drive from Namanga Town, which is the border town between Kenya and Tanzania, to Meshanani Gate. Note that 4×4-wheel drive should always be used.
The journey begins in Mombasa, the second largest city in Africa after Nairobi, and it is simple to reach the park by passing through Tsavo West National Park via Kimana Gate. These road routes are very rewarding with beautiful country views and easy passing through the small town of Emali on the main road to Mombasa. The flight to Amboseli National Park’s landing strip, known as the “Amboseli Airstrip,” takes around 30 minutes.
From Wilson Airport, flights that land at Empusel Gate, Namanga, and Kilimanjaro Buffalo Lodge can be booked, either as chartered flights or on regularly scheduled flights. The reputable trip operator accepts reservations.

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