Sitting astride the main Nairobi-Mombasa road, the combined area of Tsavo West and East is larger than Wales or Jamaica. With its large herds of elephants and buffaloes and diversity of animal, bird and plant life, Tsavo is an ideal stopover en route to Mombasa.

With the park's great diversity of plants and animals coupled with its well maintained all weather roads, it has become a model national park.

Mzima Springs, where crystal clear water gushes daily from underground streams of Mt. Kilimanjaro, acts as an attraction to many animals and especially elephants that love spending their time here soaking half immersed in the water. Other water loving animals like hippo and crocodile are not an uncommon sight. Giraffe, gazelles and zebra can be seen wondering around the banks through the raffia palms and thick acacia together with hundreds of chattering monkeys and birds.

There are well marked nature trails, an observation platform and an underwater glass tank which provides a special vantage point to view this remarkable oasis. Not far from here lies Ngulia escarpment at the foot of the of the Ngulia Hills which rises to 1825 m.

Each year from late September to November, Ngulia has become the base of a unique phenomena. Attracted by the lights of Ngulia Lodge, thousand of migrant birds descend through the mist, which are prevalent at this time of year, only to be netted, ringed and then released. This phenomena has become one of the bird wonders of the world. Reports about ringed birds have been received from as far off places as Oman, Malawi, Iran and Germany.

Besides the gigantic elephants, other animals such as lions, some undoubtedly direct descendants of the man-eaters of Tsavo, can be seen roaming around in this national park. Among the not so common animals to be found here are fringed-eared oryx, the gerenuk and the lesser kudu. The carnivores found here include serval, hyena, leopard, cheetah and caracal. The landscape is filled with giant baobab tree and which are reputed to live a thousand years.

Larger mammals include cheetah, elephant, black rhino, hippo, giraffe, lesser kudu, oryx, Cape buffalo, zebra, yellow baboon, waterbuck, Coke's hartebeest, gerenuk, and gazelle. Crocodiles can be found in pools while various fish live in the Park's rivers and springs.

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TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

Finch Hattons Luxury Tented Lodge