Tsavo East National Park
Tsavo East National Park is named after the Tsavo river which flows through the park. It has a size of 13474 sq km and is one of the largest game parks in Kenya. It was established in 1948 and is located in the southeastern part of Kenya with the distance being 333km from the capital city Nairobi. The habitat comprises bushy grasslands, open plains, semi-arid acacia scrub, woodlands, and swampy mash land close to the river. It is closer to the coastal towns of Malindi and Mombasa. This makes it an ideal park to finish a safari before proceeding to the beach.
Regarding weather, the temperature in Tsavo East National Park is fairly constant year-round, but the rainfall varies. The tropical temperature ranges from 27-31°C (81-88°F) in the daytime and 22-24°C (72-75°F) at night. The long rainy season lasts from March to May and the short rainy season lasts from October to December.
Getting to Tsavo East National Park
It takes between 5 to 7 hrs to get to Tsavo west national park by road from Nairobi. The park has four gates and they are Manyani Gate, Voi Gate, Buchuma Gate, and Sala Gate. Roads in the reserve are fairly good and can be traversed by 2-wheel drive vehicles although they can be a challenge in the wet season and 4-wheel drive vehicles will do better. It is also possible to get to the park using chartered flights (no scheduled flights) and there are over 19 airstrips that can be used.
What to see in Tsavo East National park/ Attractions
Tsavo East National Park has vast herds of dust red elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions, leopards, hippos, crocodiles, waterbucks, lesser kudu, and gerenuk, and the prolific bird life features over 500 recorded species. Its lions are characteristically short-manned and the elephants are huge tusked with a reddish appearance because of the color of the soil which they dust themselves with. Some of the special animals seen at the park are long-necked Gerenuk, Somali ostrich, and Grevy zebra mostly found in northern Kenya.
Other notable attractions in Tsavo East National Park include Mudanda rock a natural water catchment area that feeds into a large, seasonal lake, attracting large numbers of animals.
The Yatta Plateau is a 300km ancient lava flow, that stretches along the east and north bank of the Athi-Galana. Its geomagnetic qualities are believed to play a role in guiding migratory birds and large numbers of Palearctic migrants can be seen in the area.
Lugard Falls is a group of shortfalls and steep rapids on the Galana river and where a harder rock impedes the river’s progress creating a bottleneck. Along the river downstream is Crocodile point, where the big reptiles can often be seen basking in the sun.
In terms of Flora, two trees dominate Tsavo East National park. The Baobab is an iconic tree of the park and the doum palm has edible dates.
Accommodation in Tsavo East National Park
Accommodation is plenty inside and outside the park and ranges from budget, Midrange to Luxury. Accommodations inside the park tend to cost slightly higher compared to the ones outside the park. The cost of accommodation shoots up during the peak season.
Tsavo East National park entrance fee
The fees have been reduced during this Corona pandemic period.
They are currently at
NON RESIDENTS USD
Adults – US$ 30
Child – US$ 20
EAST AFRICAN CITIZEN (Ksh)
Citizen Adults – Ksh. 500
Citizen Children – Ksh. 200
EAST AFRICAN RESIDENTS (Ksh)
Adult – Ksh 500
Children – Ksh 200
Park rules/code of conduct
- Respect the privacy of the wildlife, this is their habitat.
- Beware of the animals, they are wild and can be unpredictable.
- Don’t crowd the animals or make sudden noises or movements.
- Don’t feed the animals, it upsets their diet and leads to human dependence.
- Keep quiet, noise disturbs the wildlife and may antagonize your fellow visitors.
- Stay in your vehicle at all times, except at designated picnic or walking areas.
- Keep below the maximum speed limit (40 kph/25 mph).
- Never drive off-road, this severely damages the habitat.