Discover Amboseli, a photographer’s paradise

Amboseli is famous for two things: it’s huge herds of elephants and staggering views of Mount Kilimanjaro. No doubt you’ll come wanting to bag that signature shot of tusked elephants parading across the savannah, with the snow-capped peak of Africa’s highest mountain in the background. Just ask your safari guide, they’ll have no problem helping you capture a photo of this famed Kenyan vista – Amboseli is a true photographer’s paradise.

The 5,895-metre peak of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain, will dominate your stay in Amboseli. Even though the mountain lies in Tanzania, Amboseli is known as the rain shadow of Kilimanjaro for its dry climate and boasts the best views of the world’s tallest freestanding mountain. It’s particularly majestic at sunrise over breakfast in your safari lodge and at the end of the day, while enjoying icy sundowners in the bush after an afternoon game drive.

Thanks to the park’s dry savannah landscape – Amboseli means Salty Dust in Maasai – its animals are drawn to the wetland areas and vast lake where salmon-pink flamingos flock and over 300 species of birds can be catalogued. Declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve for its eco-diversity, Amboseli is a haven for everything from wildebeest and buffalo to lions and cheetahs preying on gazelles, kudus and impalas. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of rarer species like the striped hyena, bat-eared fox and gerenuk.

Then there’s the elephants. There’s nowhere else in Kenya where you’re guaranteed to see this iconic member of the Big Five in such abundance; it’s no surprise that Amboseli is known as the home of the African elephant. On game drives across the wide-open savannahs, you’ll spot thousand-strong parades of the tusked animals, their frayed ears flapping, trunks swaying and tiny babies running clumsily beside their mothers. Stop in at the Amboseli Trust for Elephants to learn more about these gentle giants and Kenya’s anti-poaching efforts.