Tsavo West

Overview

Tsavo National Park was established in 1948 and formed one of the largest national parks in the world. The park was later split into East and West, on either side of the Nairobi Mombasa Highway, for administrative purposes. Tsavo West adjoins the Chyulu Hills National Park. Park gates are at Tsavo, Lake Jipe, Mtito Andei, Chyulu, Maktau and Ziwani. Airstrips are located at Kamboyo, Kilaguni, Tsavo Gate, Jipe, Kasigau, Finch Hattons, Ziwani and Maktau. Park fees should be paid to Kenya Wildlife Service, KWS; current rates can be obtained from KWS.

Wildlife in the park includes leopard, cheetah, wild dog, buffalo, rhino, elephant, giraffe, zebra, lion, lesser kudu and porcupine. Diverse bird species include the threatened corncrake and the rare Basra reed warbler.

At Mzima Springs, water filtered underground from the Chyulu Hills erupts from below a lava ridge into a series of clear pools. Lake Jipe, on the Kenya Tanzania border, is fed by runoff from Mt Kilimanjaro and attracts what is thought to be the largest variety of aquatic birdlife in Africa.

Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, with wooded hills and steep winding roads, has plentiful wildlife and rare species of birds and butterflies. Lumo Community Wildlife Sanctuary is formed of three group ranches which have united to preserve this vital wildlife corridor.

Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, at the foot of the Ngulia Hills, was established to protect the rare black rhino. Now over 50 black rhino are found in the sanctuary. The Roaring Rocks, named for the buzz of cicadas that billows around them, have panoramic views over the sanctuary and make a spectacular observation point from which to look for rhinos or enjoy a sundowner.

Shetani, meaning evil in Swahili, was the name given by locals to the vast flow of lava that spurted from the earth. The Shetani Lava Flow is 8km long; trees entwine with chunks of solid magma, and in places form caves.

The plains of Tsavo were the site of a number of World War I battles between the British, based in Kenya which was then a British protectorate, and the Germans, based in what was then Tanganika, now Tanzania. Tours of battlefields and war cemeteries are available. One of the most eccentric campaigns, immortalised in the film Shout at the Devil, featured fleets of Rolls Royces; its final surrender came three months after the rest of the world had signed an armistice.

The Chyulu Hills, made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa, are strikingly attractive extinct volcanos, blanketed in black lava and lush flora. Chyulu Hills National Park has gates at Main Gate, Mukururo and Kiboko. There are two airstrips and three public campsites. Wildlife includes eland, elephant, leopard, giant forest hog, bush pig, black mamba, puff adder and rock python. Activities include game viewing, hiking, horse riding, bird watching and camping.