TSAVO EAST NATIONAL PARK

Tsavo East National Park covers an area of about 12,000 km2 and 40% of Kenya's parks' total area. The park has a beautiful landscape of plains, rocky ridges and outcrops. Due to its size, the park is among the world's wildlife and biodiversity strongholds. The park has a diversity of habitats including open plians alternating with savannah bush and semi desert scrub, acacia woodlands; rocky ridges and outcrops and more extensive ranges and isolated hills; belts of rivernie vegetation; palm thickets and on the Chulu hills, mountain forest. A section of Lake Jipe is included in the extreme south west of the park. Part of the park is of recent volcanic origin where there are many lava flows and cones including the Shaitani lava flow an example of a recent volacano. This volcanic zone also contains the Mzima spring where crystal clear water flows out from below a lava ridge. .

TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

The park covers 9000 km2, approximately 30% of Kenya's area under parks, and contains a diversity of habitats, wildlife and a mountainous scenic landscape. The park has a beautiful landscape of plains, rocky ridges and outcrops. Due to its size, the park is among the world's wildlife and biodiversity strongholds.

One of the great spectacles of the park is the Mudanda rock between voi and manyani. This 1 1/2 km long outcrop is a water catchment area which supplies a natural dam at its base. In the dry season elephants come to drink and bathe. The Tsavo and the Athi river merge into the Galana river just above the lugard falls.

The landscape is dominated by giant baobab trees which live as long as 1,000 years and appear, for most of the year, to be upside down in the ground as their gnarled branches remain devoid of foliage. A diverse landscape of vast tracts of savannah dotted with withered scrub trees and acacia bush, hills, ancient lava flows and riverine forest. In the south of the Park lie the Ngulia Hills where thousands of migrant birds are netted and ringed, providing vital information on migratory routes and habits of many species common to the northern hemisphere.
One of the main attractions of this Park is Mzima Springs, a natural springs fed with 230 million litres of crystal clear water a day from the underground streams of the nearby Chyulu Hills. The Springs are a haven for a variety of birds and wildlife including hippo and crocodile. The water from these springs has, for many years, provided the main water supply for Mombasa.

Poachers and drought have taken their toll of the game over the years but herds of elephant can still be seen. Other animals include buffalo, rhino, lion, cheetah, leopard and a variety of plains game.