Tsavo National Park

With a total area of 21,812 km ², Tsavo is the largest natural park in the country. Belongs to a system of parks which includes the adjacent National Park Chyulu hills , the nature reserve Ngai Ndethia and the nature reserve of South Kitui , with a total area of over 23,000 km ² (equal to the entire Tuscany).

The park was opened in April 1948 and in May of the same year was divided, for administrative purposes, in Tsavo East national park and Tsavo West national park. The two parks are divided by road from Nairobi to Mombasa (the A109 ) and the railway line, part of the Uganda Railway was built by the British in the late nineteenth century. Both are administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service . The nearest town is the village of Voi , in the district of Taita , Coast Province . The park is named after the Tsavo River, which flows through it.

The park includes several habitat types. Tsavo East is mostly flat, with large areas of savanna along the river Galana , union of River Tsavo and River Athi. The main observation is the Yatta plateau, with its 190 km length is the largest lava surface of the world was created by the activity of the volcano Ol Doinyo S abuk . Tsavo west is mountainous and humid with floodplains and the lake Jipe . The Lugard Falls are actually a system of rapids formed by the Galana, and named after Frederick Lugard .

Because of its exceptional biodiversity, the park is considered one of the world's most valuable nature reserves, and constitutes one of the major tourist attractions in Kenya. Two-thirds of the eastern part (Tsavo East) are closed to tourists and reserved for scientific research.