Tsavo East National Park, Kenya

The planet has one of its largest conservation areas in the Tsavo areas; Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park. Tsavo East is found mid-way between Nairobi and Mombasa. It is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It’s known for the legend of the man-eaters of Tsavo and also hosts impressive elephants. It is the Galana River which wades through this arid region providing life to the park. Some of the largest elephant herds reside here.

The Tsavo East Safari Experience

The oldest national park in Kenya is Tsavo East. Two lions, also known as the man-eaters of Tsavo, killed approximately 130 people while they were constructing the railway line connecting Mombasa and Kenya back in 1898. It is this history that made this region so famous. Today, the park is home to the biggest population of elephants in the country, in addition to one of the largest lion prides in Kenya.

The Yatta plateau is another identifiable feature in the Tsavo National Park. It has the longest flow of lava in the world stretching for over one hundred and eighty five miles (300km). The park also boasts of the Lugard falls. It is here that the Galana River thunderously flows over a number of rapids. These rapids are made by the fascinatingly shaped rocks. From the Aruba Dam, and other water sources, visitors can enjoy the best game viewing experience. They can also enjoy a game drives as they wade through the park.

What to do and see | Attractions in Tsavo East

Expect to see huge herds of Elephants covered in red dust. This is because they wallow and bathe in the dust.

Visit the Lugards waterfalls: these beautiful waterfalls are found on River Galana. They are an interesting sight to see because they fall over some rocks that are fascinatingly shaped.

Explore the Mudanda Rock: this beautiful site is comprised of a rock that stands high above a water dam that attracts very large numbers of elephants that visit this place daily to quench their thirst.

Additional activities to enjoy while on safari in Tsavo East include:

• Bird watching
• Horse riding
• Game drives
• Hiking
• Bush walks

Wildlife in Tsavo East National Park

Apart from the lions, there are many other animals in the park for example the Impalas, Zebras, Gazelles, Buffalo and Giraffes. The predators in the park include, the Cheetah- the fastest animal on land, leopards and large prides of lions. The most prominent animal in Tsavo East is the Elephants spectacularly colored in red due to the nature of Tsavo East’s soil being red in color.

Tsavo East National Park Accommodation

There are a number of accommodation facilities found in and around Tsavo East National Park, and these range from budget, mid-range to luxury facilities. Below we have highlighted just a few of these:

The Galdessa Camp

This camp is found on river Galana’s banks, within Tsavo East National Park, and it is surrounded by stunning doum palms. The accommodation offered in this place is in spacious bungalows with en-suite facilities. Wildlife sightings from the dining room are possible because of the location of the camp by the river side. Visitors are treated to an authentic bush experience through the guided walking safaris that the camp specializes in.

Satao Camp

Satao Camp is located in the middle of Tsavo East National Park, and its boundaries are not fenced which means animals freely wander about. The camp which is pitched under a beautiful shade created by a group of Tamarind Trees overlooks a waterhole commonly visited by large numbers of animals including several elephants. The camp offers an authentic ‘Out of Africa’ safari experience, and prides in very professional and highly experienced local guides who will lead you on the game drives. Accommodation is offered in luxury tented suites that have private verandas from which you can enjoy views of Elephants visiting the water source to quench their thirst. Tsavo East is the closest park that one can do a private safari tour from Mombasa and the neighbouring beach areas of Diani Beach, Malindi and Watamu.

Best time to visit | Climate of Tsavo East National Park

The Tsavo East National Park is situated near the equator and therefore experiences a moderate climate. Its temperatures range between lows of 20°C and highs of 30°C. it has two wet seasons, with the long rains starting in March all through April, while the short rains come in November and December each year. The most popular Tsavo East and Tsavo West safari is our 3 Days Mombasa Safari to Tsavo East & West.

Tsavo East National Park, Getting there

The park can be reached by either road or air transport as highlighted below. Mtito Andrei Gate is the main entrance into the park. From the Mombasa road, it is located approximately 233 kilometers (144 miles) from the capital city Nairobi.

Air transport

There is a spread of camps plus private lodges within the park many of which own private airstrips. The airstrips can be found at Ithumba, Mopeo, Aruba, Sala, Bachuma and Satao. Get in touch with our able safari experts for how best to incorporate Tsavo East in our Kenya safari tours.

Tsavo National Park is made up of two sister parks namely Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park. Together these parks make up the largest park in East Africa, which is also the second largest in Africa next to Kruger National Park of south Africa. The greater Tsavo measures 21,812 Km2; approximately the size of Wales, Northern Ireland or still, the size of the island of Jamaica.

The Tsavo West and Tsavo west National Parks are manned and operates as two separate parks but they share a vast variable ecosystem.

Tsavo East National Park.

Tsavo East National Park is the home of the “red elephants”, so called due to their red color dusty bodies owing to the red soils of the Tsavo plains. Plain games that can be easily spotted in the park include, hirolas, zebras, rhinos, many antelopes, lions and other cats. The first European to see Mt. Kenya; Dr.Lugwig Krapf, journeyed through this wild land and crossed Tsavo River on his way to Kitui in the year 1848.

In the year 1898 the construction of the famous “lunatic line”, that is the Kenya -Uganda railway reached Tsavo East and as the construction of a bridge was going on, two lions terrorized the workforce devouring at least 130 people before they were shot and killed by the British col. Patterson. The lions were later on stuffed and are now displayed in a museum in the United States of America. The area is now famously known as Man Eaters and the legendary continues.

Other highlights and attractions of Tsavo East National Park are the Lugards falls named after Captain Lugard, Mudanda rock and the Aruba Dam where an “eyes feast” of animals viewing takes place daily.

One of the best safari tours that includes this park is our 3 days safari Tsavo East & West starting from Mombasa and the coast.

Tsavo East National Park is also referred to as the theater of the wild owing to the abundance in wild animals and bird life.  It is also due to the likelihood of spotting some animal action in the park as the big cats go about their hunting of their prey.

Tsavo East can be toured as a short safari from Mombasa or as part of a longer Kenya Safari. We offer 2 days Safari to Tsavo East and also, 3 days Tsavo East combined with Tsavo West. We also offer 5 days Kenya Safari to Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli National Park.

Next time you travel to Kenya please let our safari experts prepare a package for you that includes safari Tsavo East National Park.