Some of the best places for wildlife safaris in Kenya include the world-famous Maasai Mara National Reserve, the magnificent Mount Kenya National Park, and the exceptional Samburu National Park.
Other leading Kenya safari destinations include Tsavo West National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park as well as the nearby Serengeti National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Kenya is also home to several Great Rift Valley Lakes which include Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, and Lake Elementaita.
Next, we look at the top 10 national parks in Kenya.
Replete with striking sceneries, over 99 different mammal species, and close to 450 bird species, the Maasai Mara National Reserve is the perfect destination for Kenya jungle safaris. The most popular way to explore Masai Mara is to go on a game drive around the park. Game drives in Masai mara are a rousing indulgence that introduces you to a vast variety of wild animals. These include the Big 5, wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, dik-dik, hippos, crocodiles, giant forest hogs, warthogs, and over 450 bird species.
You also get to enjoy the beautiful Maasai Mara landscape; from the slow-moving waters of the Mara River to the scattered acacias and sunburned grasslands.
Keep your eyes open, you never know when a crocodile at the river is going to lunge at an unsuspecting antelope. Other activities to do in Maasai Mara National Reserve include; camping, bird watching, sundowner, photography, and Masai village visits.
Somewhere between Lake Nakuru shallow and tepid waters lies the Lake Nakuru National Park. It is a tropical paradise hidden amongst an ever-changing terrain of woody and bushy grasslands.
Kenya animal safaris here are great and exciting; the park promises over 56 different mammal species, 450 bird species, and over 550 plant species.
Take game drives around Lake Nakuru National Park for close and intimate interactions with white rhinos, waterbucks, buffaloes, antelopes, zebras, giraffes, lions, and hippos.
Go on a flamingoes-fangirling excursion around lake Nakuru and get a glimpse of these pink beauties for which the park is most known. Take advantage of the Baboon Cliff and Out of Africa lookouts for top-of-the-cliff views of the wildlife and gorgeous panorama.
Lake Nakuru National Park is located between the Amboseli National Park and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. This makes it a popular stopover during a Kenya safari to these two Kenya famous destinations.
Meru National Park is more than just luxuriant jungles, winding rivers, lush grasslands, and termite cathedrals. It’s a magical and intensely cathartic experience best experienced on a Kenya wildlife safari.
You’ll find abundant wildlife dotted across the savannah, some common, some rare, during your visit to Meru Game Park. Keep an eye out for Grevy’s zebras, elephants, reedbucks, buffaloes, hartebeests, cobras, pythons, elephants, puff adders, and more than 427 bird species.
You will also love the park’s superior aesthetics and serenity, a rare combination that is the very reason this is one of the best safari parks in Kenya. Take a walk around its open and wooded grasslands and get to experience the park’s natural wonders intimately. Go camping, scene viewing, and on game drives for a partaking of its enchanting thrills and spills.
Tsavo National Park comprises Tsavo West and Tsavo East game areas separated by a Nairobi-Mombasa highway. An astounding national park in its own right, this southeast Kenya masterpiece features some of the country’s most striking and rewarding landscapes. A Kenya animal safari to this national park treats you to the best of these views. The most stunning being Tsavo East’s 300 km Yatta plateau, the Galana River, Lugard Falls, and a diverse assortment of wildlife.
The most common Kenyan animals you are likely to see in Tsavo National Park include elephants, gerenuks, lions, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles, and waterbucks. You might also see the giant forest hog, wildebeests, cape buffalos, and a vast variety of bird species.
Tsavo West is charming and evocative, too, its lush landscape punctuated by rocky ridges, numerous swamps, Lake Jipe, the Mzima Springs, and Shetani Lava flows. They all combine to form an effortless background for wildlife viewing. Join us on a Kenya jungle safari of Tsavo and experience surreality firsthand.
Watch in awe as crystal clear waters emerge from lava rock (Mzima Springs) and silently pour into the Shetani Lava Flows. Discover the world’s most significant lava flow (Yatta Plateau). And marvel at the dust red elephants of Tsavo East.
The Aberdare is known for its otherworldly sceneries, and the Aberdare National Park is not excluded from this irresistibility. Known for its striking ravines, open moorlands, and wildlife-adorned savannahs, this park is often tapped for rousing Kenya wildlife safari packages.
There is more to uncover on this charming preserve, bushbucks, hyenas, baboons, colobus monkeys, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, black rhinos, duikers, and wild cats.
Explore these 189530 acres of riveting grounds through guided game drives, surrendering all stresses to its captivating waterfalls, wildlife, picturesque bridges, and river valleys. Discover rarities like giant forest hogs, golden cats, civet cats, serval cats, and bongo during an Aberdare Kenya wildlife safari. Or go on a guided birding excursion and discover the over 250 bird species resident of the park. Other exciting park activities include; picnicking, trout fishing, and camping.
From its lush and scenic landscapes to its multitudes of wildlife and birds, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy has Kenya wildlife tours written all over it. This dramatic park nestles between the foothills of Mt. Kenya and the Aberdare, and amongst its many charms is its high game-to-area ratio, the highest there is in the country. There are over 10000 large mammals to discover here, and even more fascinating because it houses the only two remaining northern white rhinos in the world.
Other rarities in the park include the Big five, over 80 endangered black rhinos, six southern white rhinos, Jackson’s hartebeests, and Grevy’s zebras. When you’re not too spellbound by the conservancy, you can check out the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only place in Kenya where you can see chimps. Explore the park on horseback, go camping, or enjoy game drives.
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Disconnect and purge in the wilderness at the Samburu National Reserve, a great destination known for its rich wildlife, effortless panorama, and serene ambience.Over 900 elephants live in the park; a sight made even more fascinating by the thousands of other wildlife sprinkled all around the park. These include wild dogs, lions, cheetahs, leopards, and oryxes.But there’s more. The Samburu is also famed for the Samburu Five, a rare quintet that features the Grevy’s zebra, Beisa oryx, gerenuk, Somali ostrich, and Reticulated giraffe.There are also more than 450 recorded bird species in Samburu National Reserve.Awake to the harmonious melodies of the wild in a lodge right at the heart of the park, go on a game drive for an intimate interaction with the wildlife or better yet, go for a guided walk around the park. Other exciting activities include horseback riding, photography, bird watching, and sundowner. It’s possible to catch a direct flight from Samburu National Reserve to Maasai Mara National Reserve.