Kitirua Plains Lodge, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Location Amboseli National Park
Big elephant herds beneath Mount Kilimanjaro
Big elephant herds beneath Mount Kilimanjaro
Amboseli National Park falls into the elite category of Kenya's national parks. Formerly the Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, it lies in Kajiado County. Its signature image - herds of big-tusked elephant drifting across the plains with the 5,895 m summit of Mount Kilimanjaro behind them - is one of the most recognisable in Africa. Amboseli takes its name from a Maasai word meaning "salty dust": the volcanic soils make the roads dusty in the dry season and difficult in the wet.
The park is home to elephant, hippo, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest, and offers excellent chances of finding lion, cheetah, spotted hyena, Maasai giraffe, impala and blue wildebeest. Lion are relatively easy to spot. Birdlife is abundant, with several hundred species recorded.
Temperatures in Amboseli range from 20 to 30°C and rainfall from 200 mm to 700 mm. There are two rainy seasons - the long rains in March and April, and the short rains in November and December. Driving can be difficult in April and May when road conditions deteriorate.
Park fees are included in every Chalo Africa itinerary.
