Logo Tsavo West National Park

Tsavo West National Park


Protected Area
Approaching map
  • Park Authority: Kenya Wildlife Service
  • Headquarters: PO Box 40241 Nairobi, Kenya
  • Park Headquarters: PO Box 71 Mtito Andei, Kenya
    • Tel: +254 (0)302 22483 or 22120
  • Area: 9,065 km2
  • Towns: Mtito Andei
  • Established in: April 1948
  • Further information: www.kws.org


Tsavo West National Park
Antelopes
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Landscape
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Lioness
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 Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), on behalf of the government and people of Kenya, welcomes you to Tsavo West National Park, one of the world's largest and most famous national parks.
While our sphere of protection is wide, extending to over 50 national parks and reserves to cover more than 10 million acres of Earth's most precious yet fragile biological assets, we strive to achieve financial and biological sustainability for all these areas too. Toward this, we offer an ever-expanding range of tourism options for the enjoyment of our visitors, and ask them to let us know of how we can be of better service. We also ask our visitors to respect our natural heritage.
Kenya offers a glorious diversity of habitats, from coral reefs to snow-capped peaks or wetlands and sun-drenched savannahs, each filled with a full range of wildlife. From Earth's most ancient forms of life to those most urgently threatened, it is our hope that you will savour the chance to observe the best of nature and choose to return to Kenya's national parks and reserves again and again. Thank you for your support.
We wish you the safari of a lifetime.

Location

It lies in the southwest Kenya, inland from the coast, 232 km south of Nairobi and 250 km north of Mombasa. At an altitude of 229-2,000 meters above sea level.


Climate

Warm to hot and dry. Temperatures range from 20-30 °C. Annual rainfall of 200-700 mm occurs in the “long rains” of March-May and the “short rains” of October-December.


When to go

The Park is open all year round. The roads are well graded and efficiently maintained.

Vast Vistas and Volcanic Views
The immense Tsavo West stretches from the northeastern Athi river to the south-western Tanzanian border. With rocky outcrops in its northern parts, most of the Park is a vast tangled bush savannah, laced with volcanic ridges and lava beds. With sweeping hills reaching 1,800 meters high, the Ngulia range offers dramatic vistas, while the Chyulu Hills, adjacent to Tsavo West, feed the remarkable Mzima Springs where thousands of gallons of crystal-clear freshwater gushes into palm-fringed pools, filled with hippos and crocodiles.

Ancient and recent volcanic activity is evident within and around the Park. Visit Shetani or Devil's Lava Flow formed a few hundred years ago when a fiery molten fury spewed from the earth! Or climb to Chaimu Crater - in a mere 10 minutes. And stop by the eerie “Roaring Rocks”, named after the buzz of the cicadas that inhabit them and the howl of the wind as it rushes past the sheer face of the scarp.
From the Park's many panoramic vantage points, absorb the vast vistas as you monitor the movement of the wildlife herds below. The finest is Poacher's Lookout, a roofed hut high on a hill with views to eternity.