TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

 Dubbed the Land of lava, springs and man-eaters, Tsavo West alongside Tsavo East national park forms one of the largest National Parks in the world. It covers a mind blowing 4% of Kenya's total land area!!! Being the more famous of the two, it lies west of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway right in the middle of both major cities. It is teeming with wildlife, liquid lava flows, palm fringed rivers,emerald hills and a canvas of endless African sky.

The lush hippo-heaving pools of mzima springs, fed daily by 250 million litres of water gushing from the chyulu hills provide an oasis of green, an underwater hippo viewing chamber( yes), two nature trails and very unique picnic spots.
However, the Park is most famous for the 'man eaters of tsavo', a pair of rogue man-eating lions which preyed gruesomely on the builders of the Uganda Railway. Today, the park is more famous for the numerous prides of maneless lions that patrol the plains and police the herbivore herds.

Apart from that very famous piece of history, 600 different species of birds has been recorded within the park.  other wildlife to look out for while at the park are leopard,cheetah,buffalo,elephant,giraffe,zebra,lion,plains game,crocodile,mongoose,hyrax, dik dik,lesser kudu and the nocturnal porcupine. The park also features 100 plant species and a mixed habitat of bush, grassland and accacia woodlands dotted with baobab, ivory palm, saltbush,doum palm,tamarind and fig trees.

 When visiting tsavo west, make sure you have drinking water( bottled), picnic items(you may never know) and camping equipment should you choose to stay at the various campsites within the park. other useful items include binoculars,camera, hat, sunsceen and guidebooks.