Amboseli covers only 392 square kilometres at the foot of Kilimanjaro, which stands across the border in Tanzania and supplies the park with everything it has. Rain falling on the mountain filters through volcanic rock and emerges in Amboseli as permanent swamps, which is why a park in a dust bowl holds so much life.
The elephants
Around 1600 elephants live here, and they are the most closely studied wild elephants anywhere. Cynthia Moss began the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in 1972 and it has followed individual animals and families across more than fifty years, producing most of what is known about elephant social structure, matriarchal knowledge and lifespan. Amboseli still has bulls carrying tusks over fifty kilograms, which is now rare in Africa.
The mountain
Kilimanjaro is the reason most people come, and it is also the thing most likely to disappoint: the summit is usually covered by cloud from mid-morning until late afternoon. The reliable windows are the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset, and clarity is far better between June and October and in January and February. The classic photograph of elephants with the snow cap behind them requires being in position at six in the morning.
The landscape
Half the park is a dry lake bed, Lake Amboseli, which floods in a wet year and is a dust plain in a dry one. The swamps of Enkongo Narok and Ol Okenya are green year round and where the elephants, hippos and buffalo gather. Observation Hill is the only place where you may leave the vehicle and gives the overview.
Beyond elephants
Lion, cheetah, spotted hyena and over 400 bird species including pelicans and flamingos on the seasonal water. Rhino were poached out decades ago and have not returned. The open terrain and short grass make Amboseli one of the easiest parks for photography.
Practicalities
Four hours by road from Nairobi, or a short flight. Entry is around 60 to 100 US dollars per person per day depending on season. Dust is severe in the dry months — protect cameras. Most lodges lie inside the park or in the surrounding Maasai group ranches, several of which run community conservancies with their own game and fewer vehicles.
The Maasai group ranches
Amboseli is surrounded by community land, and elephants spend much of their time outside the park boundary. Several group ranches have converted grazing into conservancies that take a share of tourism revenue, which is the main reason the elephant population here has continued to grow while others declined.