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 The Tsavo National Park was established on 1st April, 1948 and is located about 200km south east of Nairobi and is the closest large National Park to Mombasa and makes the ideal safari location if you are staying on the coast anywhere around Mombasa, Bamburi beach or Malindi. Split in half by the Nairobi to Mombasa road, the Tsavo National park in Kenya has an area of 8035 square miles, which means that it covers an area larger than Wales and is much bigger than the more famous Masai Mara National Park. To the east of the main Nairobi-Mombasa road lies Tsavo east and on the western side Tsavo west.
The two parks are very different and generally Tsavo West has a more varied topography and a more diverse array of habitats than Tsavo East. Tsavo West consists mainly of semi-arid plains, granite outcrops and ancient lava fields. The highest and most impressive is the Ngulia Mountain, which stands at almost 6000ft high. It is far more visited that Tsavo East, to which much is closed to the general puplic although there is still such a vast amount to see this should not put you off from visiting it. Tsavo East does not have the mountains and hills of Tsavo West and the park consists mostly of dry, flat thorn-bush scrub, which is occasionally broken by the green vegetation of the Galana River and other smaller seasonal rivers that run through the National Park.
 Tsavo East National Park Divided into 3 parts by the Tiva and Galana rivers, the Tsavo East National Park is Kenya's largest National Park covering an area of 11,700sq kms.
It is a hot, waterless dry region with an annual rainfall of less than 51cm recorded, and has a large diversity of landscapes from the gorges of Lugard falls with its water carved rocks to the natural catchment at Muanda. The park has dramatic sights of large mammals including great herds of elephant, antelope, hippos, black rhino, eland, lions and giraffe plus a host of birdlife. It is an ideal place for exclusive camping, game circuts and adventures and is the greatest of all Kenya's parks. The middle section of the park has many rock and cave paintings.
 Tsavo West National Park Tsavo West National Park was established in 1948 and is bordered by Taita Hills to thorests at the water margins. It coveres a total area of 9065sq kms and hosts a wide variety of wildlife species from the 'Big Five' (Lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant), numerous other carnivores, gazelles to over 150 bird species.
The park also has the Mzima springs, Shaitani Lava Flow which consists of caves, three craters, basalt flows and lava splashes. It is also rich e east and Tanzania to the south east with areas of unending succession of fantastic views across the plains dotted with fin graphite, marble and sulphite deposits.
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