Tsavo West National Park

Tsavo West is the more scenic half of the vast Tsavo ecosystem: broken volcanic country of lava flows, cinder cones and forested hills rather than the flat red plains of its eastern neighbour. The landscape does much of the work here. Mzima Springs pushes fifty million litres of filtered water a day out of the porous lava, feeding a clear pool with an underwater viewing chamber where hippo and barbel can be watched below the surface. The Shetani lava flow spreads black and raw across the ground, and the Chyulu Hills rise green to the north. Wildlife is genuinely wild and more thinly spread than in the Mara — the bush is thicker and animals are warier, which makes a good sighting feel earned.

Why visit Tsavo West

• Mzima Springs, where an underwater chamber lets you watch hippo and fish beneath the surface of a clear volcanic spring.
• Dramatic volcanic scenery — lava flows, cinder cones and the Chyulu Hills — that is quite unlike the open savannah parks.
• The Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary protects black rhino in a fenced area within the park.
• Far fewer vehicles than the Mara, so sightings are usually yours alone.

Wildlife

Elephant, often dust-red from the local soil, along with buffalo, giraffe, zebra, impala and lesser kudu. Lion and leopard are present but the thick bush makes them harder to find than in open country. Black rhino are protected inside the Ngulia sanctuary. Hippo and crocodile hold Mzima Springs, and the park is a notable site for migrant birds in November and December.

• Elephant coloured red by the volcanic soil
• Hippo viewed through the underwater chamber at Mzima Springs
• Black rhino in the fenced Ngulia sanctuary
• Lesser kudu, klipspringer and other dry-country browsers
• Exceptional raptor and migrant birding in November and December

Best time to visit

June to October and January to February, when the bush thins and animals come to permanent water. The green seasons are beautiful and quiet but the thicker vegetation makes wildlife noticeably harder to spot.

June–October and January–February.

Things to do

Game drives

Circuits between the waterholes, lava fields and hill country.

Mzima Springs

A short guided walk to the underwater viewing chamber.

Shetani lava flow

A stop at the raw black lava field, with a short walk where conditions allow.

Birdwatching

Strong year-round, and exceptional during the November–December migration period.

How long to stay

Two nights lets you take in Mzima Springs and the hill circuits properly. One night works when Tsavo West is a staging point between Amboseli and the coast or Tsavo East.

What it combines with

Tsavo West sits naturally between Amboseli and Tsavo East, and the three together make a strong southern Kenyan circuit. It also links towards the coast.