Tsavo West National Park
General Information:| Size: | 9,065 sq Kms |
| Gazetted as a National park: | 1948 |
| Province: | Coast, Taita Taveta |
| Geographical Location: | South West Kenya, Inland from the coast |
| Altitude: | 150 - 1,800meters above sea level |
| Distance from Nairobi: | 232 Kms (Mtito Andei Gate) |
| Distance from Mombasa: | 250 Kms (Mtito Andei Gate) |
Climate:
Temperature ranges from 20-30 c and rainfall from 200mm – 700 mm.
Two rain seasons: Long rains – March & April & short rains – Nov/ December
Details:
The park is located on south eastern Kenya, 240km from Nairobi along the western side of Mombasa-Nairobi highway. The savannah ecosystem comprises of open grasslands, scrublands, and Acacia woodlands, belts of riverine vegetation and rocky ridges.
Major wildlife attractions include elephant, rhino, Hippos, lions, cheetah, leopards, Buffalos, diverse plant and bird species including the threatened corncrake and near threatened Basra Reed Warbler.
How to get there:
Distance: 240 km from Nairobi, 250km from Mombasa (Mtito Andei Gate).
By air there are 3 airstrips in the park
Gates: Tsavo, Lake Jipe, Mtito Andei (Kamboyo HQ), Chyulu, Maktau and Ziwani.
Roads: The main access routes are through Chyulu Gate from Amboseli and Mtito Andei Gate from Nairobi.
Visitors from Mombasa also use Tsavo Gate near Manyani.
The Park can also be reached via Taveta –Voi road through Maktau, Ziwani and Jipe Gates.
Airstrips: Kamboyo, Kilaguni, Tsavo Gate, Jipe, Kasigau, Finch Hattons, Ziwani, and Maktau airstrips are in good.
Attractions:
Recent Volcanoes, lava flows and caves with potential for geological and cave exploration and hiking. Mzima Springs & underwater hippo and fish watching,
Wildlife:
Leopard, Cheetah, Wild dogs, Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe, Zebra, Lion, Crocodile, Mongoose, Hyrax, Dik- dik, Lesser Kudu, and Nocturnal Porcupine. Prolific birdlife features 600 species.
Where to Stay/Accommodations:
Lodges inside the park are Ngulia Safari Lodge, Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge, Kitani Severin Safari Camp/ Lodge, Finch Hatton’s Tented Lodge, Voyager Safari Camp
Self – Catering Accomodation:
Kamboyo Guest House: Former Warden’s House; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a caretaker
Lake Jipe Bandas: 3 self-catering Bandas.
Camping
3 public campsites (offering water and latrines only) as follows; Kamboyo campsite (8 km from Mtito Andei Gate), Chyulu Campsite (1 km from Chyulu Gate) and Lake Jipe Campsite (on the lake shore)
A wide variety of ‘special campsite’ (no facilities) exist and must be booked in advance through the warden or KWS HQs
