Situated in Kenya’s South West, coastal area in between Nairobi and Mombasa.
Tsavo is particularly well known for its vast herds of dust-red elephants and the captivating landscapes and is made up of two separate parks: Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park.
Even though the two parks share a name, they are distinct with different ecosystems.
TSAVO EAST
Its characterized by flatter, more open dry plains and scattered bush across which the Galana River flows.
Other notable features include Lugard Falls and the famous 300km Yatta Plateau.
Yatta Plateau: Its 300km ancient lava flow which stretches along the east and north banks of anti-Galana.
Its is believed that its geometrical qualities play a role in guiding the migratory birds and the large number of palearctic migrants can be seen in the area.
Luggard falls are a series of short falls and steep rapids on the River Galana, where relatively harder rock has created a bottleneck in the valley and impedes the rivers progress. Crocodile point
Wildlife found here include vast herds of dust-red elephants
TSAVO WEST
It’s a beautiful and rugged wilderness terrain characterized by the wooded and hilly landscapes, dotted with volcanic cones and dramatic, black lava flow.
Tsavo west is more mountainous and a bit wetter compared to its counterpart Tsavo East, with swamps, the spectacular Mzima Springs, where crystal clear water flows through volcanic rock and Lake Jipe.
The savannah ecosystem comprises of open grasslands, scrublands and acacia woodlands, belts of riverine vegetation and rocky ridges including the Poacher’s Lookout where visitors can see the teeming herds in the plains below.
Tsavo west offers some of the most magnificent game viewing in the world and large mammals like the Elephant, Maasai Lion, Hippo, Cape Buffalo, leopard, zebra, cheetah, crocodile, Maasai Giraffe and black rhino are present here. There are also other smaller animals that can be spotted in the park such as the lesser Kudu, mongoose, bush baby, hyrax, dik-dik, hartebeest and nocturnal porcupine.
Diverse plant and 600 bird species including the threatened corncake and near threatened basra reed warbler are also present.