Kenya’s largest national park, Tsavo East National Park has an undeniable wild and primordial charm and is a terrific wildlife-watching destination. Although one of Kenya’s largest rivers flows through the middle of the park and the contrast between the permanent greenery of the river and the endless grasses and thorn trees that characterise much of the park is visually arresting, Tsavo East is markedly flatter and drier than its sister park. The flipside is that spotting wildlife is generally easier thanks to the thinly spread foliage.
Despite the size of the park, the area of most wildlife activity is actually quite compact – the northern section of the park is largely closed and can only be visited with advance permission due to the threat of banditry and ongoing campaigns against poachers. The demarcation point is the Galana River.
Most people come here to see the famous red elephants of Tsavo – their colour comes from bathing in the red Tsavo mud (to keep the skin cool and prevent insect bites). Lion and cheetah sightings are also common; unusually, the male lions are almost maneless. Other unusual inhabitants of the park include servals (many of which are black or melanistic rather than spotted), the striped hyena and African hunting dog, although all three are extremely difficult to spot.
