[ Ashnil Aruba Lodge & Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge ]
At a glance
Tsavo East National Park forms the largest protected area in Kenya and is home to most of the larger mammals, vast herds of dust –red elephant, Rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, pods of hippo, crocodile, waterbucks, lesser Kudu, gerenuk and the prolific bird life features 500 recorded species.
The name “Amboseli” comes from a Maasai word meaning “salty dust”, and it is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. They can also visit the local Maasai community who live around the park and experience their authentic culture.
Detailed trip itinerary
Day 1: Tsavo East National Park, Ashnil Aruba Lodge (Fullboard)
You will be picked up from the Villa at 05:00 after early breakfast and depart to Tsavo East National Park to arrive in before 08:00. You shall enter the Tsavo East National Park through Buchuma Gate for game drives until time for lunch Ashnil Aruba Lodge at 13:00.
In the afternoon depart at 15:30 for evening game drive covering different parts of the park until time for dinner and overnight at the lodge at 18:30.
- Swimming Pool
- Restaurant
- Business Services
- Bar Lounge
- Bush Meals
- Disability Rooms
- Guided nature walks
Ashnil Aruba Lodge lies in the heart of Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. The Lodge features 46 rooms and 6 tents. Its location is superb, just a couple of hours from the coast of Mombasa, 5 hours leisurely drive from Nairobi and is located on the banks of Aruba Dam which was built in 1952 as a sport fishing recreational point in the park. Several watering holes nearby attract wildlife and spotting animals is easy because the park lies flat with savannah grassland.
Ashnil Aruba overlooks the Aruba Dam in the heart of Tsavo East, one of Kenya's greatest and most popular national parks. Surrounded by vast arid plains, the dam's waters attract large numbers of game, especially elephants, making for good viewing from the lodge. Ashnil Aruba's location ensures you'll get what you came for – good sightings of big numbers of game, especially elephants. The summers get hot here, but the rains bring colour and life to the otherwise barren plains, making the best time to visit between December and March (if you can cope with the heat).
There are 20 suites in total at Ashnil Aruba – eight with interconnecting rooms, four triples, six lovely tented rooms and two that are adapted for guests with special needs. All have en-suite bathrooms with a flush toilet, shower and complimentary toiletries. Slate or polished concrete floors help the rooms stay cool (there are fans but no aircon), and the shaded verandas have decent views of the dam. The décor is simple and uncluttered, and the netted beds are comfortable.
Tsavo East Nationa Park forms part of the largest protected area in Kenya and is home to most of the larger mammals, vast herds of dust –red elephant, Rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, pods of hippo, crocodile, waterbucks, lesser Kudu, gerenuk and the prolific bird life features 500 recorded species. Tsavo East covers more than 13,700 km², making it nine times larger than the Maasai Mara. It has lovely scenery and its attractions include the Mudanda Rock and Yatta Plateau, the world's largest example of lava flow. The park is probably best known for its enormous herds of red elephants that dust themselves with the red-oxide soil so typical of Tsavo. Other species to be on the lookout for are the endemic desert warthog, hirola (also known as Hunter's hartebeest) and Peter's Gazelle. Apart from its teeming elephant population, another main attraction at Tsavo East is its sheer vastness. Even less developed than Tsavo West, the eastern sector feels far more remote and wild. Sometimes, it's possible to go on game drives all day without encountering another vehicle. Tsavo National Park makes a great addition onto any Kenyan safari itinerary.
Full List of Mammals found in Tsavo East
- Spectacled Elephant Shrew
- Blue or Sykes’ Monkey
- Striped Hyaena
- East African Hedgehog
- Yellow-bellied Bat
- Cheetah
- Giant White-toothed Shrew
- Lesser Ground Pangolin
- Caracal
- Rousette Fruit Bat
- Hunting Dog
- African Wild Cat
- Epauletted Fruit Bat
- Golden Jackal
- Serval
- Pale-bellied Fruit Bat
- Black-backed or Silver-backed
- Lion
- White-bellied Tomb Bat
- Jackal
- Leopard
- Hollow-faced Bat
- Side-striped Jackal
- Ant Bear
- False Vampire Bat
- Bat-eared Fox
- Tree Hyrax
- Yellow-winged Bat
- Zorilla
- Rock Hyrax
- Lander’s Horseshoe Bat
- Ratel or Honey Badger
- African Elephant
- Lesser Leaf-nosed Bat
- Clawless Otter
- Black Rhinoceros
- Giant Leaf-nosed Bat Recorded
- African Civet
- Grevy’s Zebra
- From Galana River
- Neumann’s or Small-spotted
- African Trident Bat Recorded
- Genet
- Burchell’s or Common Zebra
- From Kilaguni Lodge
- Bush or Large-spotted Genet
- Warthog
- Banana Bat or African
- African Palm Civet
- Masai Giraffe
- Pipistrelle
- Marsh Mongoose
- Coke’s Hartebeest or Kongoni
- Yellow-bellied Bat
- Dwarf Mongoose
- Hunter’s Hartebeest or Hirola
- Angola Free-tailed Bat
- Large Grey Mongoose
- White-bellied Free-tailed
- Bat
- Slender or Black-tipped Mongoose
- Red Duiker
- Flat-headed Free-tailed Bat
- White-tailed Mongoose
- Blue Duiker
- Greater Galago
- Banded Mongoose
- Bush Duiker
- Bush Baby
- Aard-wolf
- Klipspringer
- Black-faced Vervet Monkey
- Spotted Hyaena
- Suni
- Steinbok
- Bushbuck
- Unstriped Ground Squirrel
- Kirk’s Dik-dik
- Lesser Kudu
- Bush Squirrel
- Common Waterbuck
- Eland
- East African Red Squirrel
- Bohor Reedbuck
- African Buffalo
- Spring Hare
- Impala
- African Hare
- African Dormouse
- Grant’s Gazelle
- Cane Rat
- Giant Rat
- Gerenuk
- Porcupine
- Kenya Mole Rat
- Fringe-eared Oryx
- Striped Ground Squirrel
- Naked Mole Rat
Tsavo East has an impressive checklist of over 500 bird species. It has many dry-country specials which are easy to spot, including the magnificent golden-breasted starling, golden pipit and vulturine guineafowl. The park is also the southernmost stronghold for the Somali ostrich. The park’s huge area is a significant wintering ground for migrant species from Europe. Migrant birds are present from November to April.
- Abbot’s Starling Recorded
- Abdim’s Stork
- Abyssinian Hill Babbler Occurs
- Abyssinian Scimitar-bill
- African Black Duck Recorded
- African Black Kite
- African Cuckoo
- African Darter
- African Finfoot
- African Fire Finch
- African Fish Eagle
- African Golden Oriole
- African Goshawk
- African Hawk Eagle
- African Hobby Recorded from
- African Hoopoe
- African Jacana
- African Kestrel
- African Marsh Harrier Rare
- African Marsh Owl
- African Moustached Warbler
- African Penduline Tit
- African Pied Wagtail
- African Rock Martin
- African Sand Martin
- African Scops Owl
- African Snipe
- African Spoonbill Uncommon
- African Wood Owl
- along Tsavo and Galana Rivers
- Amethyst Sunbird
- amongst flocks of migrating
- an Barn Owl
- And March
- Angola Swallow
- Anteater Chat Chyulu Hills
- Arrow-marked Babbler
- as spring passage migrant
- Ashy Cisticola
- Ashy Flycatcher
- Augur Buzzard
- Avocet
- Ayres’ Hawk Eagle
- Banded Martin
- Banded Tit-warbler
- Bare-eyed Thrush
- Barred Owlet
- Barred Warbler
- Bat Hawk
- Bateleur
- Bearded Woodpecker
- Beautiful Sunbird
- Black and White Cuckoo
- Black Crake
- Black Cuckoo
- Black Cuckoo Shrike
- Black Heron Lake Jipe
- Black Rough-wing Swallow
- Black-backed Puff-back
- Black-bellied Bustard
- Black-breasted Apalis
- Black-breasted Glossy Starling
- Blackcap Bush Tchagra
- Blackcap Warbler
- Black-capped Social Weaver
- Black-cheeked Waxbill
- Black-chested Harrier Eagle
- Black-faced Sandgrouse
- Blackhead Plover
- Black-headed Heron
- Black-headed Oriole
- Black-headed Tchagra
- Black-necked Weaver
- Black-shouldered Kite
- Blacksmith Plover
- Black-throated Wattle-eye
- Black-winged Stilt
- Block-collared Barbet
- Blue-capped Cordon-bleu
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
- Blue-eared Glossy Starling
- Blue-headed Wagtail and races
- Blue-naped Mousebird
- Boehm’s Spinetail Frequents
- Booted Eagle Rare winter
- Brimstone Canary
- Broad-billed Roller
- Bronze Mannikin
- Bronze-naped Pigeon
- Bronze-winged Courser
- Bronzy Sunbird
- Brown Harrier Eagle
- Brown Parrot
- Brown Woodland Warbler
- Brown-breasted Barbet
- Brown-headed Tchagra
- Brown-hooded Kingfisher
- Brown-throated Barbet
- Buffalo Weaver
- Buff-backed Heron or
- Buff-bellied Warbler
- Buff-crested Bustard
- Bunting
- Button Quail
- Cape Quail
- Capped Wheatear
- Cardinal Quelea
- Cardinal Woodpecker
- Carmine Bee-eater
- Caspian Plover Winter visitor
- Cattle Egret
- Chestnut Sparrow
- Chestnut Weaver
- Chestnut-backed Sparrow Lark
- Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
- Chin-spot Flycatcher
- Cliff Chat
- Collared Sunbird
- Common Sandpiper
- Coqui Francolin
- Crested Francolin
- Croaking Cisticola
- Crombec
- Crowned Crane
- Crowned Hawk Eagle Occurs
- Crowned Hornbill
- Crowned Plover
- Cuckoo Falcon Uncommon
- Curlew Sandpiper
- curs in forest on Chyulu Hills
- Cut-throat
- D’Arnaud’s Barbet
- Didric Cuckoo
- Donaldson-Smith’s Nightjar
- Drongo
- Dusky Flycatcher
- Dusky Nightjar
- Dwarf Bittern
- Eastern Bearded Scrub Robin
- Eastern Double-collared
- Eastern Red-footed Falcon Very
- Egyptian Goose
- Egyptian Vulture
- Emerald Cuckoo
- Emerald-spotted Wood Dove
- Ethiopian Swallow
- European Bee-eater
- European Black Kite
- European Black Stork
- European Common Snipe
- European Common Wheatear
- European Corn Crake Passage
- European Cuckoo
- European Golden Oriole
- European Hobby Occurs mainly
- European Hoopoe
- European Kestrel
- European Marsh Harrier
- European Marsh Warbler
- European Nightingale
- European Nightjar
- European Pintail
- European Rock Thrush
- European Roller
- European Sand Martin
- European Sedge Warbler
- European Shoveler
- European Spotted Flycatcher
- European Swallow
- European Whinchat
- European White Wagtail
- European White-throat
- European Willow Warbler
- Fan-tailed Raven
- Fan-tailed Warbler
- Fan-tailed Widow-bird
- Fawn-coloured Lark
- Fire-fronted Bishop
- Fiscal Shrike
- Fischer’s Greenbul
- Fischer’s Sparrow Lark
- Fischer’s Starling
- Fischer’s Straw-tailed Whydah
- Flappet Lark
- Forest and in riverine forest
- forest near Voi
- Four-coloured Bush Shrike
- Freckled Nightjar
- Frequents open plains.
- from the Galana River
- from Tsavo and Athi Rivers
- Fulvous Tree Duck
- Gabar Goshawk
- Galana River
- Galena River, but not
- Garden Warbler
- Garganey Teal
- Giant Kingfisher
- Glossy Ibis Rare visitor
- Golden Palm Weaver
- Golden Pipit
- Golden Weaver
- Golden-breasted Bunting
- Golden-breasted Starling
- Golden-rumped Tinkerbird
- Golden-tailed Woodpecker
- Goliath Heron
- Grasshopper Buzzard Common
- Great Reed Warbler Uncom-
- Great Snipe
- Great Sparrow Hawk
- Great White Egret
- Greater Honeyguide
- Greater or White-eyed Kestrel
- Greater Swamp Warbler
- Great-spotted Cuckoo
- Green Pigeon
- Green Sandpiper
- Green Wood Hoopoe
- Green-backed Heron Occurs
- Greenshank
- Green-winged Pytilia
- Grey Cuckoo Shrike Chyulu
- Grey Flycatcher
- Grey Heron
- Grey Hornbill
- Grey Kestrel Uncommon
- Grey Tit
- Grey Woodpecker
- Grey Wren Warbler
- Grey-backed Camaroptera
- Grey-backed Fiscal
- Grey-capped Warbler
- Grey-headed Bush Shrike
- Grey-headed Kingfisher
- Grey-headed Silverbill
- Grey-headed Social Weaver
- Grey-rumped Swallow
- Grosbeak Weaver
- Ground Hornbill
- Hadada Ibis
- Half-collared Kingfisher Rare
- Hamerkop
- Harlequin Quail
- Harrier Hawk
- Hartlaub’s Bustard
- Hartlaub’s Turaco Occurs
- Helmeted Guinea-fowl
- Heuglin’s Courser
- Hildebrandt’s Starling
- Hills forest
- Holub’s Golden Weaver
- Honey Buzzard Uncommon
- Hooded Vulture
- Hottentot Teal
- Hunter’s Sunbird
- Indigo-bird
- Inhabits acacia trees near rivers
- Isabelline Wheatear
- Issabeline Wheatear
- Jackson’s Bustard Rare
- Jameson’s Fire Finch
- Kaffir Rail Rarely seen
- Kenya Crested Guinea-fowl
- Kenya Grosbeak Canary
- Kenya Violet-backed Sunbird
- Kittlitz’s Plover
- Klaas’ Cuckoo
- Knob-billed Duck
- Kori Bustard
- Lammergeyer Rare visitor
- Lanner
- Laughing Dove
- Layard’s Black-headed Weaver
- Lesser Grey Shrike
- Lesser Honeyguide
- Lesser Kestrel
- Lesser Kestrels in spring
- Lesser Spotted Eagle Rare
- Levaillant’s Cuckoo
- Lilac-breasted Roller
- Little Bee-eater
- Little Bittern
- Little Egret
- Little Grebe
- Little Grey Flycatcher Re-
- Little Purple-banded Sunbird
- Little Ringed Plover
- Little Sparrow Hawk
- Little Stint
- Little Swift
- Lizard Buzzard
- Long-billed Pipit
- Long-crested Eagle
- Long-tailed Cormorant
- Long-tailed Fiscal
- Long-tailed Nightjar
- Madagascar Bee-eater
- Madagascar Squacco Heron
- Malachite Kingfisher
- Marabou Stork
- Mariqua Sunbird
- Marsh Sandpiper
- Martial Eagle
- Masai Ostrich
- Masked Weaver
- Migrant seldom seen
- mon passage migrant
- Montagu’s Harrier
- Moorhen
- Morning Warbler Frequents
- Mosque Swallow
- Mottled Swift
- Mottled-throated Spinetail
- Mourning Dove
- Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit
- Namaqua Dove
- Narina’s Trogon In Chyulu
- Near Galana River
- Nicator Occurs in acacia
- Night Heron
- north of Galana River
- north of the Galana River
- Northern Brownbul
- Northern Brubru
- Northern Pied Babbler
- Northern White-tailed Lark
- Nubian Nightjar
- Nubian Woodpecker
- Nyanza Swift
- Occur on rocky hills north of
- occurs along rivers
- Occurs in dry bush country
- occurs in forests and well-
- Olive Pigeon
- Olive Sunbird
- Olive Thrush
- Olive-tree Warbler
- On rivers
- On southern border
- Open-bill Stork
- Orange-bellied Parrot
- Osprey Rare visitor
- Ovampo Sparrow Hawk Un-
- Painted Snipe
- Pale Chanting Goshawk
- Pale Flycatcher
- Pallid Harrier
- Palm Swift
- palm Thickets
- Palm-nut Vulture
- Pangani Longclaw
- Paradise Flycatcher
- Paradise Whydah
- Parasitic Weaver
- Parrot-billed Sparrow
- Pearl-spotted Owlet
- Pectoral-patch Cisticola
- Pel’s Fishing Owl Not yet re-
- Peregrine Uncommon
- Peter’s Twin-spot Occurs in
- Pied Crow
- Pied Kingfisher
- Pied Wheatear
- Pink-backed Pelicans
- Pink-breasted Lark
- Pin-tailed Whydah
- Plain Nightjar
- Pratincole
- Probably occurs at Lake Jipe
- Purple Grenadier
- Purple Heron Recorded from
- Pygmy Falcon
- Pygmy Goose Lake Jipe
- Pygmy Kingfisher
- Pygmy Puff-back Flycatcher
- Quail Finch
- Rare visitor
- Rare winter visitor
- Rattling Cisticola
- Recorded from Mzima Springs
- recorded in the Voi area
- Recorded near Voi
- Red and Yellow Barbet
- Red Bishop
- Red-backed Scrub Robin
- Red-backed Shrike
- Red-billed Duck
- Red-billed Fire Finch
- Red-billed Hornbill
- Red-billed Oxpecker
- Red-billed Quelea
- Red-capped Lark
- Red-capped Robin Chat
- Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu
- Red-chested Cuckoo
- Red-collared Widow-bird
- Red-eyed Dove
- Red-faced Apalis
- Red-fronted Tinkerbird
- Red-headed Weaver
- Red-knobbed Coot Uncommon
- Red-naped Bush Shrike
- Red-necked Falcon Occurs
- Red-rumped Swallow
- Red-tailed Shrike
- Red-throated Pipit Uncommon
- Redwing Bush Lark
- Red-wing Starling
- Reichenow’s Weaver
- Retz’s Red-billed Shrike
- Richard’s Pipit
- Ringed Plover
- Ring-necked Dove
- River Warbler
- Robin Chat
- Rocky hills near Mtito Andei
- Rosy-breasted Longclaw Un-
- Rosy-patched Shrike
- Ruff
- Rufous Chatterer
- Rufous Sparrow
- Rufous-backed Mannikin
- Rufous-crowned Roller
- Ruppell’s Long-tailed Starling
- Ruppell’s Vulture
- Sacred Ibis
- Saddle-bill Stork
- Scaly Chatterer Occurs mainly
- Scaly Francolin Occurs on
- Scaly-throated Honeyguide
- Scarlet-chested Sunbird
- Scimitar-bill
- Secretary Bird
- Senegal Hoopoe Occurs mainly
- Senegal Plover
- Shelley’s (Greywing) Francolin
- Shelley’s Starling
- Shikra
- Silverbill
- Silverbird
- Silvery-cheeked Hornbill
- Singing Bush Lark
- Singing Cisticola
- Slate-coloured Boubou
- slopes of hills
- Smaller Black-bellied Sunbird
- Somali Golden-breasted Bunting
- Somali Ostrich
- Sooty Falcon Recorded during
- South African Black Flycat
- Speckled Mousebird
- Speckled Pigeon
- Speckle-fronted Weaver
- Spectacled Weaver
- Spotted Eagle Owl
- Spotted Morning Warbler
- Spotted Stone Curlew
- Spotted-flanked Barbet
- spring passage migrant
- Spur-winged Goose
- Squacco Heron
- Steel-blue Whydah
- Steppe Buzzard Winter visitor
- Steppe Eagle
- Stone Partridge Reputed to
- Stonechat Chyulu Hills
- Stout Cisticola
- Straight-crested Helmet Shrike
- Streaky Seed-eater
- Striped Kingfisher
- Striped Pipit Frequents bushy
- Striped Swallow
- Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike
- Sun- bird Chyulu Hills forest
- Superb Starling
- Swahili Sparrow
- Swallow
- Taita Falcon Rare: has been
- Taita Fiscal
- Tambourine Dove
- Tawny Eagle
- Tawny-flanked Prinia
- Temminck’s Courser
- The Tsavo and Galana rivers
- Three-banded Plover
- Three-streaked Tchagra
- Thrush Nightingale or Sprosser
- Tiny Cisticola
- Tree Pipit
- Tropical Boubou
- Trumpeter Hornbill
- Tsavo River
- Two-banded Courser
- Uncommon
- uncommon: a few to be seen
- Variable Sunbird
- Verreaux’s Eagle Owl
- Verreaux’s Eagle Rare
- Vicinity of baobab trees.
- Violet Wood Hoopoe Recorded
- Violet-backed Starling
- Violet-breasted Sunbird
- Violet-crested Turaco Rare
- Vitelline Masked Weaver
- Von der Decken’s Hornbill
- Vulturine Guinea-fowl
- Wahlberg’s Eagle
- Wahlberg’s Honeyguide
- Water Dikkop
- Wattled Starling
- Waxbill
- Well’s Wagtail Uncommon
- White Pelican
- White Stork
- White-backed Night Heron
- White-backed Vulture
- White-bellied Bustard
- White-bellied Canary
- White-bellied Go-away-bird
- White-breasted Tit
- White-browed Coucal
- White-browed Robin Chat
- White-browed Sparrow Weaver
- White-crowned Shrike
- White-eye Slaty Flycatcher
- White-faced Scops Owl
- White-faced Tree Duck
- White-headed Buffalo Weaver
- White-headed Mousebird
- White-headed Rough-wing
- White-naped Raven
- White-rumped Swift
- White-throated Bee-eater
- White-throated Robin Rare
- White-winged Scrub Robin
- White-winged Widow-bird
- Winding Cisticola
- winter visitor
- Winter visitor
- winter visitor and passage
- Wire-tailed Swallow
- Wood Ibis
- Wood Sandpiper
- wooded areas
- Wooly-necked Stork
- Yellow Bishop
- Yellow Flycatcher
- Yellow White-eye
- Yellow-bellied Eremomela
- Yellow-bellied Waxbill
- Yellow-billed Duck
- Yellow-billed Egret
- Yellow-billed Hornbill
- Yellow-billed Oxpecker
- Yellow-fronted Canary
- Yellow-necked Spurfowl
- Yellow-rumped Seed-eater
- Yellow-spotted Petronia
- Yellow-throated Longclaw
- Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
- Yellow-vented Bulbul
- Yellow-whiskered Greenbul
- Zanzibar Red Bishop
Days 2: Amboseli National Park, Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge (Fullboard)
In the morning you will depart after tea or coffee and a snack at 06:30 and go for morning game drive which allows spotting hopefully leopard being a nocturnal animal and many more reverting back to the Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge for full breakfast at 08:00.
Thereafter depart to Ambseli National Park where you shall arrive time for lunch at 13:00 followed by a rest in the lodge then at 15:30 game drive until at 18:30 then dinner and overnight in the lodge.
In this afternoon game drive you shall have an optional great opportunity to visit the Masai Villa near the Amboseli National Park where you shall meet with the Masai family set up comprising the parents many being women who shall be selling their ornament, curios and shall as well demonstrate their love for their home stead visit known as Boma which is composed of many round hut made of sticks, mud and cow dark. Children shall be pretty singing with their mothers in jubilation for their natural love of visitors though nowadays it is compulsory to go to school but they are reluctant due to their strong cultural believes of keeping cattle as their measure of wealth not forgetting many wives so they must start marring when they have just turned teenagers.
- Game Drives
- Maasai Cultural Visits
- Bird Watching
- Guided Safari Walks
- Gift Shop & Business Center
- Swimming Pool
- Bush Breakfast & Sundowners
- Spa / Massages
- Cultural Visits
- Weddings
Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge was created for adventurers with an African dream. With Mount Kilimanjaro soaring majestically just beyond the golden, acacia-specked savannah, the safari lodge offers a graceful blend of stark beauty and lavish comfort in the heart of Kenya’s Amboseli National Park.
Nestled in an acacia grove by a gentle mountain spring, our hotel, comprising a Maasai-inspired design, a garden restaurant and a palm-shaded swimming pool and sundeck, provides uninterrupted views of Mount Kilimanjaro and the surrounding landscape. In every detail, the ambience captures the essence of Maasai culture, warmth and indomitable spirit. The setting our Amboseli safari lodge is breathtakingly beautiful, the wildlife abundant and the cuisine, hospitality and amenities unrivalled.
Mornings bring stirring views of Kilimanjaro’s snow-capped peaks. Whether embarking on a safari to see “The Big Five” (elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard and rhino), planting your very own tree as part of our Re-Forestation Programme, or enjoying a bush dinner and glass of wine as the bonfire cinders waft into the indigo night, your stay will be infused with unforgettable moments.
Amboseli is often called the ‘Land of Giants’ – due to the impressive elephants here carrying massive tusks. The animals are set against breathtaking vistas of Mt Kilimanjaro, which makes an awesome backdrop to the small park. Aside from elephants, many plains animals are easy to spot. Fantastic photo opportunities are possible, and early mornings are best for clear views of Kilimanjaro.
Full List of Mammals found in Amboseli National Park:
- Aard-wolf
- African Buffalo
- African Civet
- African Dormouse
- African Elephant
- African Hare
- African Wild Cat
- Angola Free-tailed Bat Inhabits
- Ant Bear
- Banana Bat or African
- Banded Mongoose
- Bat-eared Fox
- Black Rhinoceros
- Black-backed or Silver-backed Jackal
- Black-faced Vervet Monkey
- Blue or Sykes’ Monkey
- Bohor Reedbuck
- Burchell’s or Common Zebra
- Bush Baby Frequents acacia
- Bush Duiker
- Bush or Large-spotted Genet
- Bush Squirrel
- Bushbuck
- Caracal
- Cheetah
- Coke’s Hartebeest or Kongoni
- Common Waterbuck
- Dwarf Mongoose
- East African Hedgehog
- Eland
- Epauletted Fruit Bat Attracted
- False Vampire Bat Colonies
- Fringe-eared Oryx
- Gerenuk
- Giant White-toothed Shrew
- Golden Jackal The rarest of the
- Grant’s Gazelle
- Hippopotamus
- Hollow-faced Bat
- Hunting Dog
- Impala
- Kenya Mole Rat
- Kirk’s Dik-Dik
- Klipspringer
- Lander’s Horseshoe Bat
- Large Grey Mongoose
- Leopard
- Lesser Kudu
- Lesser Leaf-nosed Bat
- Lion
- Marsh Mongoose
- Masai Giraffe
- Neumann’s or Small-spotted Genet
- Pipistrelle
- Porcupine
- Ratel or Honey Badger
- Red Duiker
- Rock Hyrax
- Rousette Fruit Bat Attracted
- Serval
- Short-snouted Elephant Shrew
- Side-striped Jackal
- Slender or Black-tipped Mongoose
- Spectacled Elephant Shrew
- Spotted Hyena
- Spring Hare
- Steinbok
- Striped Ground Squirrel
- Striped Hyena
- Thompson’s Gazelle
- Tree Hyrax
- Unstriped Ground Squirrel
- Warthog
- White-bearded Gnu or Wildebeest
- White-bellied Free-tailed Bat
- White-bellied Tomb Bat
- White-tailed Mongoose
- Woodland
- Yellow Baboon
- Yellow-bellied Bat
- Yellow-winged Bat Hangs in
- Zorilla
Amboseli is a good birding destination and more than 420 species have been recorded here. The swamps are great for water-associated birds such as egrets, herons, pelicans and crowned cranes. Large numbers of flamingos may be present in the Wet seasons (March to May and October to December). The grassland areas offer some interesting ground birds such as Hartlaub’s bustard and the localized Pangani longclaw. The acacia woodland holds some dry country specials such as steel-blue whydah, white-bellied go-away bird and the Von der Decken’s hornbill.
Below is a complete list of most common birds, resident and migrant, that can be found in Amboseli National Park.
- Abdim’s Stork
- Abyssinian Scimitar-bill
- Acacia woodland
- African Black Kite
- African Darter
- African Fire Finch
- African Fish Eagle
- African Golden Oriole
- African Hawk Eagle
- African Hoopoe
- African Jacana
- African Marsh Harrier
- African Marsh Owl
- African Penduline Tit
- African Pied Wagtail
- African Pochard
- African Rock Martin Occurs
- African Sand Martin
- African Scops Owl
- African Snipe
- African Spoonbill
- Amethyst Sunbird
- Angola Swallow
- Anteater Chat
- Augur Buzzard
- Avocet
- Banded Martin
- Banded Tit-warbler
- Bare-eyed Thrush
- Barred Warbler
- Bat Hawk
- Bateleur
- Bearded Woodpecker
- Beautiful Sunbird (black-belrace)
- Black and White Cuckoo
- Black Crake
- Black Cuckoo
- Black Cuckoo Shrike
- Black Rough-wing Swallow
- Black-backed Puff-back
- Black-bellied Bustard
- Black-breasted Apalis
- Blackcap Warbler
- Black-cheeked Waxbill
- Black-chested Harrier Eagle
- Black-faced Sandgrouse
- Black-faced Waxbill
- Black-headed Heron
- Black-headed Oriole
- Black-headed Tchagra
- Black-lored Babbler
- Black-necked Weaver
- Black-shouldered Kite
- Blacksmith Plover
- Black-throated Wattle-eye
- Black-winged Stilt
- Blue-capped Cordon Bleu
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Un-
- Blue-eared Glossy Starling
- Blue-headed and Yellow Wagtail
- Blue-headed Coucal
- Blue-naped Mousebird
- Booted Eagle
- Brimstone Canary
- Broad-billed Roller
- Bronze Mannikin
- Bronzy Sunbird
- Brown Harrier Eagle
- Brown Parrot
- Brown-headed Tchagra
- Brown-throated Barbet
- Buffalo Weaver
- Buff-backed Heron or Cattle Egret
- Buff-bellied Warbler
- Buff-crested Bustard
- Bunting
- Button Quail
- Capped Wheatear
- Cardinal Quelea
- Cardinal Woodpecker
- Caspian Plover
- Chestnut Sparrow
- Chestnut Weaver
- Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
- Chin-spot Flycatcher
- Cinnamon-breasted Rock
- Cliff Chat Occurs on
- Collared Sunbird
- CommonSandpiper
- Coqui Francolin
- Crested Francolin
- Crimson-rumped Waxbill
- Crombec
- Crowned Crane
- Crowned Hawk Eagle
- Crowned Hornbill
- Crowned Plover
- Cuckoo
- Curlew Sandpiper
- D’Arnaud’s Barbet
- Didric Cuckoo
- Drongo
- Dusky Flycatcher
- Dusky Nightjar
- Dwarf Bittern
- Egyptian Goose
- Egyptian Vulture
- Emerald Cuckoo
- Emerald-spotted Wood Dove
- European Bee-eater
- European Black Kite
- European Black Stork
- European Common Snipe
- European Common Wheatear
- European Golden Oriole
- European Hobby Uncommon
- European Hoopoe
- European Kestrel Winter visitor
- European Marsh Harrier
- European Nightingale
- European Nightjar
- European Pintail
- European Rock Thrush
- European Roller Sometimes
- European Sand Martin
- European Sedge Warbler
- European Shoveler
- European Spotted Flycatcher
- European Swallow
- European Whinchat
- European White-throat
- European Willow Warbler
- Fan-tailed Widow-bird
- Fawn-coloured Lark
- Fiscal Shrike Namanga area
- Fischer’s Sparrow Lark
- Fischer’s Starling
- Fischer’s Straw-tailed Whydah
- Flappet Lark
- Fulvous Tree Duck
- Gabar Goshawk
- Garden Warbler
- Garganey Teal
- Giant Kingfisher Uncommon
- Glossy Ibis Rare visitor
- Golden-breasted Bunting
- Goliath Heron
- Grasshopper Buzzard
- Great Reed Warbler
- Great White Egret
- Greater Flamingo
- Greater Honeyguide
- Greater or White-eyed Kestrel
- Greater Swamp Warbler
- Great-spotted Cuckoo
- Green Pigeon
- Green Sandpiper
- Green Wood Hoopoe
- Green-backed Heron
- Greenshank
- Green-winged Pytilia
- Grey Flycatcher
- Grey Heron
- Grey Hornbill
- Grey Plover
- Grey Tit
- Grey Woodpecker
- Grey Wren Warbler
- Grey-backed Camaroptera
- Grey-backed Fiscal
- Grey-capped Warbler
- Grey-headed Bush Shrike
- Grey-headed Kingfisher
- Grey-headed Silverbill Frelied
- Grey-headed Social Weaver
- Grey-rumped Swallow
- Grosbeak Weaver Swamp
- Ground Hornbill
- Gull-billed Tern
- Hadada Ibis
- Hamerkop
- Harlequin Quail
- Harrier Hawk
- Hartlaub’s Bustard
- Helmeted Guinea-fowl
- Heuglin’s Courser
- Hildebrandt’s Starling
- Holub’s Golden Weaver
- Honey Buzzard Rare visitor,
- Hooded Vulture
- Horus Swift
- Hottentot Teal
- Hunter’s Sunbird
- in varying numbers
- Indigo-bird
- Issabeline Wheatear
- Jackson’s Bustard
- Jameson’s Fire Finch
- Kaffir Rail
- Kenya Grosbeak Canary
- Kenya Violet-backed Sunbird
- Kittlitz’s Plover
- Klaas’ Cuckoo
- Knob-billed Duck
- Kori Bustard
- Lanner Visitor in small
- Laughing Dove
- Layard’s Black-headed Weaver
- Lesser Flamingo Flamingos
- Lesser Grey Shrike Passage
- Lesser Honeyguide
- Lesser Kestrel Winter visitor
- Levaillant’s Cuckoo
- Lilac-breasted Roller
- Little Bee-eater
- Little Bittern
- Little Egret
- Little Grebe
- Little Ringed Plover
- Little Sparrow Hawk
- Little Stint
- Little Swift
- Lizard Buzzard
- Long-billed Pipit
- Long-crested Eagle
- Long-tailed Cormorant
- Long-tailed Fiscal
- Long-tailed Nightjar
- Madagascar Bee-eater Visitor
- Madagascar Squacco Heron
- Malachite Kingfisher Uncommon
- Marabou Stork
- Mariqua Sunbird
- Marsh Sandpiper
- Martial Eagle
- Masai Ostrich Not uncommon
- Masked Weaver
- Montagu’s Harrier
- Moorhen
- Mosque Swallow
- Mottled Swift
- Mourning Dove
- Namaqua Dove
- Night Heron
- Northern Brownbul
- Northern Brubru
- Northern Pied Babbler
- Northern White-tailed Lark
- Nubian or Lappet-faced Vulture
- Nubian Woodpecker
- Nyanza Swift
- Oldoinyo Orok
- Olive Sunbird
- Olive Thrush
- Open-bill Stork
- Orange-bellied Parrot
- Osprey Rare visitor
- Painted Snipe
- Pale Chanting Goshawk
- Pallid Harrier
- Palm Swift
- Paradise Flycatcher
- Paradise Whydah
- Parasitic Weaver
- Parrot-billed Sparrow
- Pearl-spotted Owlet
- Pectoral-patch Cisticola
- Peregrine Visitor in small
- Pied Crow
- Pied Kingfisher
- Pied Wheatear
- Pink-backed Pelican
- Pink-breasted Lark Confined
- Pin-tailed Whydah
- Plain Nightjar
- Pratincole
- Purple Grenadier
- Purple Heron
- Pygmy Falcon Most frequent
- Pygmy Kingfisher In scrub and
- Quail Finch
- Rattling Cisticola
- Red and Yellow Barbet
- Red-back Scrub Robin
- Red-backed Shrike
- Red-billed Duck
- Red-billed Fire Finch
- Red-billed Hornbill
- Red-billed Oxpecker
- Red-billed Quelea
- Red-capped Lark
- Red-capped Robin Chat
- Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu
- Red-chested Cuckoo
- Red-eyed Dove
- Red-faced Apalis
- Red-faced Crombec
- Red-fronted Barbet
- Red-fronted Tinkerbird
- Red-headed Weaver
- Red-knobbed Coot
- Red-rumped Swallow
- Red-tailed Shrike
- Red-throated Tit
- Red-winged Starling
- Reichenow’s Weaver
- Richard’s Pipit
- Ringed Plover
- Ring-necked Dove
- Robin Chat
- Rosy-patched Shrike
- Ruff
- Rufous Chatterer
- Rufous Sparrow
- Rufous-bellied Heron
- Rufous-crowned Roller
- Ruppel’s Vulture
- Ruppell’s Long-tailed Starling
- Sacred Ibis
- Saddle-bill Stork Resident in
- Scaly-throated Honeyguide
- Scarlet-chested Sunbird
- Schalow’s Wheatear Found
- Scimitar-bill
- Secretary Bird
- Senegal Plover
- Shelley’s (Greywing) Francolin
- Shikra
- Silverbill
- Silverbird
- Singing Bush Lark
- Slate-coloured Boubou
- South African Black Flycatcher
- Southern Banded Harrier Eagle
- Speckled Mousebird
- Speckled Pigeon
- Speckled-fronted Weaver
- Spectacled Weaver
- Speke’s Weaver
- Spotted Eagle Owl
- Spotted Morning Warbler
- Spotted Redshank
- Spotted Stone Curlew
- Spotted-flanked Barbet
- Spur-winged Goose
- Squacco Heron
- Steel-Blue Whydah Dry bush
- Steppe Buzzard Winter visitor
- Steppe Eagle
- Stork
- Straight-crested Helmet Shrike
- Streaky Seed-eater
- Striped Kingfisher
- Striped Swallow
- Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike
- Superb Starling
- Swahili Sparrow
- Swallow
- Taita Falcon Rare visitor. Has
- Taita Fiscal Dry bush country
- Tambourine Dove
- Taveta Golden Weaver
- Tawny Eagle
- Tawny-flanked Prinia
- Temminck’s Courser
- Than Peregrine
- Three-banded Plover
- Thrush Nightingale or Sprosser
- to arid bush areas
- Tropical Boubou Undergrowth
- Tufted Duck Rare winter
- Two-banded Courser
- Variable Sunbird
- Verreaux’s Eagle Owl
- Violet-backed Starling
- Vitelline Masked Weaver
- Von der Decken’s Hornbill
- Vulturine Guinea-fowl
- Wahlberg’g Eagle
- Wahlberg’s Honeyguide
- Water Dikkop
- Wattled Starling Often perch
- Waxbill
- White Pelican
- White Stork
- White-backed Duck
- White-backed Vulture
- White-bellied Bustard
- White-bellied Canary
- White-bellied Go-away-bird
- White-breasted Tit
- White-browed Coucal
- White-browed Robin Chat
- White-browed Sparrow Weaver
- White-crowned Shrike
- White-faced Scops Owl
- White-faced Tree Duck
- White-headed Buffalo Weaver
- White-headed Rough-wing
- White-headed Vulture
- White-naped Raven
- White-necked Cormorant Un-
- White-rumped Swift
- White-throated Bee-eater
- White-throated Robin
- White-winged Black Tern
- White-winged Scrub Robin
- White-winged Widow-bird
- Winding Cisticola
- Wire-tailed Swallow
- Wood Ibis or Yellow-billed
- Wood Sandpiper
- Wooly-necked Stork
- Yellow Bishop
- Yellow White-eye
- Yellow-bellied Eremomela
- Yellow-bellied Waxbill
- Yellow-billed Duck
- Yellow-billed Egret
- Yellow-billed Hornbill
- Yellow-crowned Bishop
- Yellow-fronted Canary
- Yellow-necked Spurfowl
- Yellow-rumped Seed-eater
- Yellow-spotted Petronia
- Yellow-throated Longclaw
- Yellow-throated Sandgrouse In
- Yellow-vented Bulbul
Day 3: Kenyan Coast
This day early in the morning you will depart after tea or coffee and a snack at 06:30 for morning game drive at the bulk of Mount Kilimanjaro essential for possibility of spotting nocturnal animals that are rare and other many more animals reverting back to the lodge for full breakfast at 08:00 in Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge.
After depart to Kenya coast stopping on the way for delicious lunch in Voi town and further proceed to the hotel for dinner and overnight at 18:30.
Easter & Christmas Surcharges
A surcharge would be charged per person per night on Good Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Easter Monday and on 24th 25th, 26th, 31st December and 1st January. The Surcharge would be confirmed at the time of booking for clarity purposes.
For optimal enjoyment of your safari, we urge you to carry the following:
All weather firm shoe pair, short and dress to use during the day, trouser for use in the evenings with long sleeved shirt, sweater or jacket, hat, swimming costume, sunglass, camera, binocular, sun protection cream and insect repellent spray or cream.