Experience Tsavo East National Park

Experience Tsavo East National Park : One of Africa’s largest wildlife parks, Tsavo East is located halfway between Nairobi and Mombasa. The Park is traversed by the Galana River, which supplies essential water to this dry area. Some of Kenya’s largest elephant herds can be found there.

Some of the Highlights and attractions of Tsavo East National Park are:

• Elephants in large herds, wallowing and taking dust baths, leaving them covered in red dust.
• Mudanda Rock: perched atop a natural dam, this rock attracts a large number of elephants daily that come here to quench their thirst.
• Lugards Falls: These waterfalls flow over some intriguingly carved rocks on the Galana River.
• Activities at Tsavo East National Park include
• horseback riding, trekking, rock climbing, and game drives.

How to get there

The Mtito Andrei Gate serves as the park’s main entrance and is situated on the Mombasa Road approximately 233 km (144 miles) from Nairobi. Due to the size of the area, several camps and private lodges have their own private airstrips, which are located at Aruba, Satao, Sala, Ithumba, Sangayaya, Mopeo, and Bachuma.

Kenya’s oldest national park is Tsavo East. Large prides of lions and the largest elephant herds in the nation can be found there. The Man-eaters of Tsavo, two lions that killed about 130 people in 1898 while building the railway line, brought fame to the area. The vast prides of lions that live in the Tsavo National Park are visible to tourists nowadays.

The Yatta Plateau, which stretches over 300 km (185 miles) and is the world’s longest lava flow, is one of the park’s most identifiable features. The Lugard Falls, where the Galana River tumbles over a series of rapids formed by oddly shaped boulders, is another sight worth seeing. The Park provides the classic safari experience, with the greatest areas to see wildlife are typically those near water sources like the Aruba Dam.

In addition to the ferocious buffaloes, the park is home to a sizable population of giraffe, zebra, impala, and gazelles. Large prides of Lions, elusive Leopards, and the swiftest land mammal, the Cheetah.

Mudanda Rock

Mudanda Rock is a short drive south of the Manyani gate in the southwest scrublands of Tsavo East National Park. The Precambrian Mudanda rock is said to have served the surrounding tribes as a vantage point and a place to dry meat strips in the past. With 3600 views from its summit, it is now one of the park’s vantage points where guests on kenya safari can go on a walking safari.

The 1.6 km long Inselbergs known as Mudanda Rock serves as a natural dam’s water catchment and provides a great vantage point for the hundreds of elephants and other species that visit during the dry season.

Mudanda Rock is a massive pinkish-red stone that unexpectedly emerges from the undergrowth, featuring a set of steps carved into its massive flank. Mudanda rock is Precambrian basement rock that is between 570 and 4,550 million years old. It is well-liked by elephants and leopards, and thousands of years ago, the Waliangulu hunter-gatherers used it as a place to dry their elephant meat, hence the name “Mudanda,” meaning “the place of dried meat.” There is a water hole on the eastern side of this 1.6 km long granite outcrop, however it occasionally dries up. The rock serves as a good Kenya safari lookout for the animals and makes it simple for visitors to see the various wildlife species while on safari. The dam is filled by rainwater collected on the rock, and enough rain may collect to form massive amounts of water.

Yatta Plateau

The Yatta Plateau is located close to the Athi River, which forms the park’s northwest boundary. It is home to a number of tented camps, lodges, and campsites, all of which provide breathtaking views of Tsavo. The Yatta Plateau is covered in dense vegetation with stands of Baobab (Adansonia digitate). Seasonal ponds, swamps, and dams are sporadically located, but there aren’t many sources of permanent water. In general, the west, which experiences about 450 mm of rainfall per day, has richer vegetation than the driest east, which might only receive 250 mm.

One of the most interesting features of Tsavo East National Park is the Yatta Plateau, the longest lava flow in the world. The plateau was created during the eruption process of Ol Doinyo Sabuk Mountain and spans 290 kilometres along the park’s western boundary, above the magnificent Athi River and River Tiva. The Tiva is known for its plain, wide, and shallow valleys, which contribute to the park’s picturesque scenery.

The Yatta Plateau is home to a large number of flat thorn bushes. To the west of the plateau are hills, volcanic mountains, and massive outcroppings that offer breathtaking vistas.

Lugard Falls

One of the most striking attractions of Tsavo East National Park, Lugard Falls is created by the Galana River and offers an exciting experience for visitors on a Kenya walking safari. Lugard Falls boasts a succession of white water rapids. The British explorer and colonial governor Fredrick Lugard, who came in Mombasa early in 1888, is honoured with the name Lugard Falls.

The two Rivers Tsavo and Galana

The Tsavo and Galana rivers, which are two of the primary water sources for the park and its ecosystem, cut across the terrain of Tsavo East National Park. The Tsavo River flows through the two national parks of Tsavo, Tsavo East and Tsavo West, before joining the Athi River to form the Galana River. The Galana River originates in the highlands of southeast Kenya and passes through Tsavo East National Park on its route to the Indian Ocean. Crocodiles infest the Galana River, making them fascinating to see from a safari in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya.

Kanderi Swamp

Kanderi Swamp is a magnificent tourist destination situated along the Voi River, which serves as a vital water source for a multitude of wildlife. It is also one of the water supplies that sustain the environment of Tsavo East National Park. Kanderi Swamp is a fantastic location for Kenyan wildlife viewing safaris. During a game drive, you can see a variety of animals, including buffaloes, antelopes, hartebeests, and elephants.

Experience Tsavo East National Park : Aruba Dam

One of the best places in Tsavo National Park to see Kenyan wildlife is the Aruba Dam, a water reservoir situated along the Voi River and constructed in 1952. Thousands of animals from Tsavo National Park congregate at the Aruba Dam to drink water, especially during the dry season. A wide diversity of birds inhabit the area surrounding the dam.

Experience Tsavo East National Park : Bird watching

Tsavo East National Park should be at the top of your list if you’re searching for a fantastic bird habitat in Kenya. With over 500 different bird species, it’s widely regarded as one of the best places to go birding in Kenya. Numerous bird species have been identified as inhabiting Tsavo East National Park, including ostriches, kestrels, buzzards, starlings, weaver birds, kingfisher, female eastern paradise, autocephalous, goshawks, eastern chanting goshawks, golden pipits, martial eagles, Rufous chatterer, slender-tailed nightjars, Somali bee-eaters, Shelley’s starling, African Finfoot, lesser kestrels, and many more.  These birds are both resident species and migratory species, the latter of which arrive in Tsavo East National Park between November and April. Migratory species are originating from northern Africa and Europe.

Experience Tsavo East National Park : Wildlife

Animals that live in Tsavo East national park are elephants, leopards, cheetah, buffalos, black rhinos, gazelle, impala, aardwolf, Grevy’s alongside plain’s zebra, warthog, waterbucks, warthogs, civet, dik-dik, caracal, African wildcat, African hunting dog, duikers that is, eland, African dormouse, stripped as well as spotted hyena, tree hyrax, black-backed and side stripped jackal, lesser kudu, gazelles, small spotted genet, greater galago, bat-eared fox, African hare, species of mongoose like banded mongoose, dwarf mongoose, Egyptian mongoose, marsh mongoose, slender mongoose and white-tailed mongoose and species of duikers such as bush duiker, red duiker and blue duiker among others.