Tsavo East National Park

Tsavo East is enormous, flat and red. Together with Tsavo West it forms one of the largest protected areas on the continent, and its open plains give it a scale that few other Kenyan parks match — the horizon simply runs out. The defining image is of elephants coated in the park's distinctive red dust, which they throw over themselves after bathing. The Galana River draws a green line across the dry country and concentrates wildlife along its banks, while the Yatta Plateau, one of the world's longest lava flows, runs for nearly three hundred kilometres above it. Aruba Dam is a reliable focus for game in the dry months.

Why visit Tsavo East

• Large elephant herds, stained red by the soil, which is the park's signature sight.
• Genuine wilderness scale and very few vehicles compared with the Mara.
• Open, flat terrain that makes spotting straightforward over long distances.
• The Galana River and Aruba Dam reliably concentrate wildlife in dry months.

Wildlife

Elephant in large numbers, plus buffalo, lion, giraffe, zebra, eland, oryx, gerenuk and hirola in parts of the range. Lion here are famously associated with the Tsavo man-eaters of 1898 and the males often carry little or no mane. Crocodile and hippo hold the Galana River. Cheetah occur on the open plains but sightings are infrequent.

• Red-dusted elephant herds
• Maneless Tsavo lion
• Oryx, gerenuk and other dry-country antelope
• Crocodile and hippo along the Galana River
• Large buffalo herds around Aruba Dam

Best time to visit

June to October and January to February are best, when water is scarce and wildlife gathers at the river and dams. The park can be very hot; the green seasons disperse animals across a huge area and make sightings less predictable.

June–October and January–February.

Things to do

Game drives

Circuits along the Galana River, Aruba Dam and the open plains.

Mudanda Rock

A natural rock outcrop above a waterhole, often good for watching elephants come to drink.

Yatta Plateau viewpoints

Long views over one of the world's longest lava flows.

How long to stay

Two nights suits the park's size. One night is common when Tsavo East is used as a link between the southern parks and the coast.

What it combines with

Most often paired with Amboseli and Tsavo West on a southern circuit, and it sits on the natural route towards Mombasa and the Kenyan coast.