A photographer’s paradise, the national park is crowned by the majestic Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa which looms over the plains and provides a picturesque backdrop to the abundant wildlife. The 151-square mile park encompasses five different habitats here ranging from the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, swampy wetlands with sulfur springs, the savannah, rocky thorn bush, and acacia woodlands. The name Amboseli means salty dust in the local Maasai language. It has a dry Pleistocene lake basin that houses a temporary lake, Lake Amboseli, after the rains. Though the climate here is typically hot and dry.

While a wide array of animals call the park home, it is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to over 900 free-ranging, big-tusked elephants, earning it the nickname ‘the land of giants’. Due to long dry months and sparse vegetation, the park offers an excellent opportunity to see cape buffaloes, impala, Masai lions, cheetahs, spotted hyenas Masai giraffes, plains zebras, and blue wildebeest among other African animals roam the plains. It’s also home to over 370 bird species. The park works diligently to protect its wildlife and imposes the following rules: never get out of the vehicle except at designated spots, don’t harass the animals, no off-road driving, and the animals always have the right of way. After all they were here first.