Mbuga
Mbuga means park.
Kenya's national parks and reserves
Every park we send travelers to: what it's known for, when to go, how to get there and how long to stay.
50 parks, reserves and conservancies
NarokMaasai Mara National Reserve: the complete visitor guideBig cats all year, the Great Migration in season, and the conservancies that make it better.- KajiadoAmboseli National Park: elephants under KilimanjaroBig elephant families, open swamps and Africa's highest mountain on the horizon.
Taita-Taveta, Kitui, Tana RiverTsavo East National Park: Kenya's biggest wildernessRed elephants, wide horizons and room to breathe, close to the coast.
Taita-TavetaTsavo West National Park: springs, lava and rhinosVolcanic hills, crystal springs full of hippos and a vast new home for black rhinos.
NakuruLake Nakuru National Park: rhinos, lions and flamingosA small Rift Valley park with some of Kenya's best chances of seeing rhinos.
Samburu, IsioloSamburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba: the northern reservesDry country, a lifeline river and animals you will not see in the south.
NakuruLake Naivasha: boats, hippos and walking with giraffesA freshwater lake in the Rift Valley, two hours from Nairobi, best seen by boat and on foot.
NakuruHell's Gate National Park: cycle and walk with wildlifeTowering cliffs, a deep gorge and one of the few parks where you can ride a bike past zebras.
NairobiNairobi National Park: safari at the edge of the cityLions, rhinos and giraffes, with skyscrapers on the horizon and the airport next door.
LaikipiaOl Pejeta Conservancy: rhinos, chimpanzees and the Big FiveA conservancy below Mount Kenya, with the Big Five and the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa.
Meru, IsioloLewa Wildlife Conservancy: a visitor's guideRhinos, Grevy's zebra and Mount Kenya on the horizon, on land run for conservation.
MeruMeru National Park: a visitor's guideElsa's wilderness: big game, palm-lined rivers and hardly another vehicle in sight.
Nyeri, NyandaruaAberdare National Park: a visitor's guideMisty forest, high moorland, roaring waterfalls and elephants at the waterhole after dark.
Meru, Tharaka-Nithi, Embu, Kirinyaga, NyeriMount Kenya National Park and climbing guideAfrica's second-highest mountain, and a summit trek that fit hikers can reach.
BaringoLake Bogoria National Reserve: a visitor's guideBoiling springs, steaming geysers and, in good years, a shoreline turned pink.
KakamegaKakamega Forest: a visitor's guideKenya's only tropical rainforest, best explored slowly, on foot, at dawn.
KilifiWatamu Marine National Park: a visitor's guideCoral gardens at low tide, turtles on the beach and mangroves a short drive away.
KwaleKisite-Mpunguti Marine Park and Wasini IslandDolphins, clear coral and a seafood lunch on an island with no cars.
KwaleShimba Hills National Reserve: a visitor's guideCool green hills, rare sable antelope and elephants, an hour from the beach.
Marsabit, TurkanaLake Turkana National Parks and SibiloiThe Jade Sea, the fossils of our ancestors and a crocodile island in a desert lake.
NarokOlare Motorogi Conservancy: the Mara's big-cat countryLions, leopards and cheetahs on Maasai land, with a handful of camps and very few vehicles.
NarokMara North Conservancy: the largest, and the Loita herds' homeThe biggest of the Mara conservancies, close to the river, with the Loita wildebeest and riding safaris.
NarokMara Naboisho Conservancy: lions, walking safaris and fly campingSome of Africa's densest lion prides, and the Mara conservancy where you can walk and sleep out.
NarokOl Kinyei Conservancy: the small conservancy that started the Mara modelTwo camps, 240 landowners and 29 square miles: the quietest way to stay in the Mara.
IsioloBuffalo Springs National Reserve: Samburu's southern bankThe same river and the same Special Five as Samburu, with springs of clear water on the south bank.- IsioloShaba National Reserve: lava, springs and Joy Adamson's last campThe quietest of the three northern reserves, with black lava, palm-lined springs and a famous story.
Homa BayRuma National Park: Kenya's last roan antelope, near Lake VictoriaA quiet valley near Lake Victoria and the only place in Kenya to look for the roan antelope.
Trans-NzoiaSaiwa Swamp National Park: Kenya's smallest park and its sitatungaA swamp you explore on foot, from boardwalks and tree hides, for an antelope that lives in water.
Trans-Nzoia, BungomaMount Elgon National Park: the elephant caves and a volcano shared with UgandaKenya's quietest mountain: caves that elephants mine for salt, a vast caldera and a summit you can walk.
NakuruMount Longonot National Park: the crater rim hikeA young volcano above Lake Naivasha, a steep ash path to its rim and a forested crater far below.
MachakosOl Donyo Sabuk National Park: buffalo mountain near ThikaA forested mountain on the Athi plains, its buffalo, its monkeys and an American buried near the top.
NakuruLake Elementaita: pelicans, flamingos and hot springsThe smallest of the Rift's World Heritage lakes, and the one you can walk beside.
BaringoLake Baringo: birds, boats and a rising Rift lakeA freshwater lake in hot, dry country, where the birding starts at the breakfast table.
KajiadoLake Magadi: the pink soda lake south of NairobiTwo hours and a thousand meters down from Nairobi, a lake of pink crust, steam and flamingos.
KilifiArabuko-Sokoke Forest: rare birds and the golden-rumped sengiThe largest coastal forest left in East Africa, fifteen minutes from the beach.
KilifiMida Creek: mangroves, a boardwalk and sunset canoesA tidal creek behind Watamu that empties to mudflats full of birds, then fills to a silver lagoon at sunset.- KilifiMalindi Marine National Park: Kenya's first marine parkCoral gardens a short boat ride from Malindi town, in one of the first marine parks in Africa.
LamuKiunga Marine National Reserve: the far northern reefIslands, reefs and seagrass at the far end of Kenya's coast, a boat ride north of Lamu.
MarsabitSibiloi National Park: fossils, stone trees and the Jade SeaA windswept park on Lake Turkana's eastern shore, where the ground is full of our ancestors.
MarsabitMarsabit National Park: a forest on a volcano in the desertA green, misty mountain rising out of the northern desert, with crater lakes and big-tusked elephants.
Taita-TavetaTaita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and Salt Lick: elephants at the waterholeA private sanctuary between the two Tsavo parks, where the lodge stands on stilts and the elephants come to you.- Taita-TavetaLUMO Community Conservancy: a community-run safari beside Tsavo WestThree group ranches pooled their land for wildlife. You stay on a ridge above it, with Tsavo's animals and few other vehicles.
KwaleMwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary: the community corridor beside Shimba HillsFarmers gave the elephants a corridor, and visitors pay to watch them use it.- LaikipiaBorana Conservancy: rhinos, horses and Mount Kenya viewsA working ranch turned rhino sanctuary, where you can ride out among the wildlife with the mountain on the horizon.
LaikipiaIl Ngwesi: the Maasai-owned lodge and conservancy in LaikipiaThe people who guide your walk own the land, the lodge and the decisions.
LaikipiaLoisaba Conservancy: star beds, rhinos and wild dogs in northern LaikipiaSleep on an open platform under the sky, then spend the day on a horse, a camel or a bike.- Nyeri, LaikipiaSolio Ranch: the rhino sanctuary that restocked KenyaA private ranch between two mountains, where rhinos are the whole point and you often see several in a morning.
NairobiKarura Forest: walking and cycling in Nairobi's saved forestA forest inside the city, saved by a protest and kept by its neighbors.- KajiadoNgong Hills: the ridge walk above NairobiFour green knuckles on Nairobi's horizon, and a ridge walk with the city on one side and the Rift Valley on the other.
Tana RiverTana River Primate Reserve: Kenya's rarest monkeys and their river forestTwo monkeys found nowhere else on Earth, in a chain of river forests that need protecting.
Park, reserve or conservancy?
- National parksRun by Kenya Wildlife Service: Amboseli, Tsavo, Lake Nakuru, Nairobi, Meru, Hell's Gate, Aberdare, Mount Kenya and the marine parks. Fixed roads and set hours.
- National reservesRun by county governments: the Maasai Mara, Samburu, Buffalo Springs, Shaba and Lake Bogoria. Same rules as parks, different fees and gates.
- ConservanciesPrivate or community land beside the parks, such as the Mara conservancies, Ol Pejeta and Lewa. Fewer vehicles, plus night drives, walks and off-road sightings.
Two or three parks make a first safari.
Most first trips pair the Maasai Mara with Lake Nakuru or Amboseli, then end on the coast. We plan the route around the season, your dates and the animals you most want to see.
Plan the route
Common questions
What is the best national park in Kenya?
For a first safari, the Maasai Mara and its conservancies, for year-round big cats and the Great Migration from about July to October. Amboseli is the best for elephants under Kilimanjaro.
Is the Maasai Mara a national park?
No. It is a national reserve, run by Narok County rather than Kenya Wildlife Service. The private conservancies around it are run by Maasai landowners and their partners.
What is the difference between a national park, a reserve and a conservancy?
National parks are run by Kenya Wildlife Service, national reserves by county governments, and conservancies by private or community landowners, who often allow night drives, walking safaris and off-road driving that parks do not.
Which parks can I walk or cycle in?
Hell's Gate National Park allows walking and cycling, and many private conservancies offer guided walking safaris.
How many parks should I visit on a first trip?
Two or three in a week, such as Lake Nakuru or Naivasha and the Maasai Mara, with Amboseli or Samburu added on a longer trip.
Twende
Twende means let's go. Tell us your dates and we'll suggest the parks that are best that month.
Plan a safari