Amboseli

Amboseli National Park is one of Kenya's most popular parks, famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants. The park offers postcard-perfect views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world and Africa's highest peak at 5,895 meters. The name "Amboseli" comes from a Maasai word meaning "salty dust," reflecting the park's dry, dusty conditions. Despite this, the park features five different habitats: the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, wetlands with sulphur springs, savannah grasslands, woodlands, and acacia forests. Amboseli is home to over 1,500 elephants, some of the largest in Africa due to the rich minerals in the soil. The park also hosts lions, cheetahs, hyenas, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, and over 400 bird species including flamingos, pelicans, and kingfishers.