Amboseli National Park Review: Is It Worth Going?
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This is a full Amboseli National Park review to share my experience on this iconic Kenyan safari spot.
Amboseli National Park is one of the most frequented safari parks in Kenya. Not only can you encounter the African Big 5. It is also most famous as the heaven for elephants with the breathtaking backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Although the national park is a lot smaller than the Masai Mara (~392 km versus 1,510km). The animal variety is similar. With higher density, I felt like seeing more in Amboseli compared to the Masai Mara during my last vacation in Kenya.
Amboseli is one of the main safaris in Kenya and usually the last stop for a Kenya-Tanzania safari trip, given its proximity to Namanga border town, just about 1.5 hours away, making cross-border transitions seamless for those extending into Tanzania’s Serengeti or Ngorongoro.
In short, Amboseli will amaze you with its animal variety, elephants, and the great Mount Kilimanjaro backdrop.
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
A Day In Amboseli
Amboseli National Park offers you a great variety of animal encounters. There you will find most elephant tribes in Africa with the great backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Let’s Start With Photo And Video For Animals in Amboseli
Wild animals in Amboseli National Park form a diverse assembly, dominated by one of Africa’s largest free-roaming elephant populations—estimated at over 1,600 individuals in the wider ecosystem, as tracked by the Amboseli Trust for Elephants since 1972.
Other Herbivores & Canivores:
Beyond elephants, herbivores including abound: Maasai giraffes tower over acacias, browsing leaves with their long necks; plains zebras and blue wildebeests graze in mixed groups, their stripes and grunts filling the air; Cape buffaloes form formidable herds near water, their curved horns deterring predators; waterbucks with ringed horns frequent swamps; and smaller antelopes like Grant’s gazelles and impalas dart across grasslands.
Other than herbivores, similar to the Masai Mara, there are also predators like lions, cheetahs, hippos, and crocodiles.
Birdlife In Amboseli National Park:
Birdlife is prolific, with over 400 species per eBird records, including ostriches, secretary birds, African fish eagles, different cranes and etc. I probably took more bird photos in Amboseli than I did in Lake Naivasha. Additionally, during my last visit, there were more flamingos in Amboseli than in Lake Nakuru as well!
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
You Will Find A Lot In Amboseli
Amboseli National Park is not only famous for the elephants. There you will find lions, zebras, hippos, wildebeests, buffaloes, a great variety of birds, and even flamingos like Lake Nakuru!
Brief Introduction About Amboseli National Park
Amboseli National Park, nestled in southern Kenya’s Kajiado County within the Great Rift Valley, spans about 392 km² and is renowned for its stunning vistas of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 5,895 meters, which towers just across the Tanzanian border.
Established in 1974 as a national park after being a reserve since 1948, the park’s ecology revolves around five swamps (Enkongo Narok, Olokenya, Longinye, Kimana, and Lake Amboseli) sustained by Kilimanjaro’s meltwater via underground aquifers, creating vital wetlands amid the semi-desert.
Amboseli National Park’s UNESCO status highlights its global importance: designated as a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve in 1991, it recognizes the harmonious coexistence of wildlife and the Maasai people, who graze cattle in the surrounding ecosystem. This status underscores efforts to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts, like elephant crop-raiding, through community programs funded by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
The park’s landscape includes thorny acacias, open savannas, and rocky outcrops like Observation Hill (where you will be having lunch !), offering 360-degree Amboseli National Park views of the plains and Kilimanjaro—best at dawn when clouds part.
How’s The Game Drive Like
Similar to other safaris, the Amboseli game drive starts at early morning around 7 am and ends at 6 pm. The hotel/campsite will prepare you with a packed lunch. Then the local guide will drive the jeep around the park for animal encounters. Just like the photos I showed you will encounter different animals depending on your luck, but in Amboseli, tribes of elephants and the backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro are guaranteed.
Yet, unlike other safaris, the itinerary there is enriched with the local souvenir shops, a stop at the resort, and the observation point.
Amboseli Local Souvenir Shops
Amboseli National Park is designated with the UNESCO biosphere status, and it means community focus—support local crafts.
I didn’t know that until I visited there. Before entering the National Park, the tour guide will usually stop at the local souvenir shops at the front gate. Unlike the tourist-trap-like Masai market in the Nairobi Center, these local souvenir shops sell the souvenirs at the most affordable price and a great variety.
Noting that if you are on a multi-safari trip like me, this is the only chance you have with the local souvenir shop.
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
You Will Find A Lot In Amboseli
Being recognized with UNESCO biosphere status, there are a lot of local souvenir shops at the front gate of Amboseli. It is the most affordable places in Kenya compared to most of the other souvenir shops.
A Rest Point At Lodge / Resort:
Similar to other safaris, there will be several stop points for a toilet during your journey. In Amboseli, the toilet break would usually happen in a lodge/resort inside the national park. During my last visit, we stopped by Ol Tukai Lodge in Amboseli. There, we can enjoy the drinks at the bar (which is ~ 5 – 10 USD per drink) and also enjoy close encounters with the herbivores near the pool.
The Best Lunch Observation Point
I loved the picnic under the tree during my 3-day 2-night stay in the Masai Mara. However, the Amboseli one is the best among all the safaris. There, you can take a little hike to the observation point. From there, you enjoy a 360-degree landscape view of the whole park. At the same time, there are also a lot of beautiful yellow canaries and superb starlings around the area.
Comparing Amboseli to The Masai Mara
Despite being smaller than the Masai Mara, I encountered more animals there due to its density, and was also amazed by its Mount Kilimanjaro backdrop. Amboseli has a cheaper entrance fee at USD 60 – 80 compared to Lake Nakuru (at around 90 USD) or the Masai Mara ( at 100 USD during non-peak season and 200 USD during the peak season). Amboseli is also slightly closer to the Nairobi center, with around 4 4-hour drive as compared to (~ 5 hours for the Masai Mara).
Despite being a closer and more affordable safari, I would still recommend the Masai Mara for those who could only choose because of limited time. Cost aside, both safaris are likely to take you a full day back and forth from Nairobi. And unlike choosing Lake Nakuru, a 4-hour versus 5-hour drive is not that big of a difference.
In that case, if you say you have only 3 days in Nairobi, I would do 2 days for city center icons like the Museums, market, and the giraffe center. Then a day trip to the Masai Mara, after all, it is the most famous safari in Kenya.
Yet if you are planning a Kenya-Tanzania safari trip, Amboseli is one of the must-see safaris in it, given its proximity to the Namanga border town. (Noting that, unlike Uber in Nairobi city, it is hard to hail a car at the national park, so make sure the transport to the border city is included in your tour.)
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
Multi-Safari Vacation
During my last visit, I joined a 11-day safari day tour that includes Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi. That’s the best way to have all the great safaris in one go !
More about Best Time to Visit
Late June is the best time to visit Amboseli. It is the time when the long dry season (June to October) starts. During that time, you will see the animals congregating around swamps, and Mount Kilimanjaro’s snow-capped peak will be visible.
Not to mention, late June and early July are also the non-peak period before the summer holiday. So the safari, including accommodation price, is more affordable. You may even catch the Great Migration season if you are on a longer safari trip that includes the Masai Mara and Serengeti.
As with most of the safari, the opening time of the park is from 6 am to 6 pm. Peak season (July – October) entrance fee is at USD 80 and USD 60 for non-peak season. It is a lot cheaper than the Masai Mara and most of the safaris in Kenya.
Things I Didn’t Know Before The Amboseli Journey
- Elephant tusks here are massive—super-tuskers with 100+ pound ivory are protected, but poaching threats persist.
- Kilimanjaro views aren’t guaranteed; the best chance to see it is in the early morning.
- No rhinos—unlike Nakuru’s sanctuary.
- Balloon rides are available here too for ~ 500 USD per person.
- UNESCO biosphere status means community focus—support local crafts.
- The front gate’s souvenir shops are the cheapest in Kenya during my last visit
Amboseli National Park Review: The Final Safari In Kenya
Amboseli National Park may not be the choice for a first-timer in Kenya with limited time. However, if you are doing a 2-week vacation in both Kenya and Tanzania, then it is a must-visit safari for greater variety.
Amboseli National Park stands out from the others as a budget-friendly safari in Kenya, emphasizing serene elephant encounters and dramatic Kilimanjaro backdrops, unlike the predator-packed Masai Mara or bird-focused Lake Nakuru National Park.
With more affordable fees, diverse activities, and most importantly, the proximity to borders for Tanzania extensions. It is definitely one of the worth-seeing national parks on your trip.
🐘🐃🦓🐆🦒🦏 Recommended African Safari Package
✅ Same Day – Safari trip from Nairobi:
Masai Mara / Lake Nakuru + Naivasha / Amboseli / Nairobi National Park
✅ 3 Days 2 Nights – Masai Mara Safari trip from Nairobi:
✅ 7 Days 6 Nights – Kenya Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi:
✅ 11 Days 10 Nights – Kenya & Tanzania Safari trip including Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli from Nairobi in Kenya; Serengeti & Ngorongoro in Tanzania with departure back to Nairobi:
✅ There are also other packages online (GetYourGuide / Viator) !
Amboseli Is Worth Visiting
I watched multiple elephant tribes in Amboseli with a lot of cute baby elephants under the Kilimanjaro backdrop. Other than that, I took loads of great photos and videos of other animals as well. I loved my stay in Amboseli and highly recommend that for you too !
Frequently Asked Questions About Amboseli National Park
What is Amboseli’s weather like?
Hot and dry year-round, 25-35°C days, cooler nights; dry seasons June-October best for visits.
What are the activities in Amboseli National Park?
Game drives, birdwatching, Maasai visits, hill hikes, balloon safaris.
What is the cost of going to Amboseli National Park?
USD 80/adult entry (2025 high season); tours from USD 150.
What is Amboseli National Park’s UNESCO status?
Designated a Man and Biosphere Reserve since 1991 for wildlife-human harmony.
What is the best view of Amboseli National Park like?
Iconic Kilimanjaro panoramas with elephants, best from Observation Hill.
Can I pay by card for the souvenir shop at Amboseli National Park?
Not only is Cash (either KES pr USD) acceptable.
What are the wild animals in Amboseli National Park?
Elephants, lions, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, hippos, 400+ birds.
