Tsavo East National Park is one of the most thrilling destinations in Kenya, it is part of the greater Tsavo National Park the country’s largest conservation area, Tsavo East National Park was gazette together with its counterpart Tsavo West National Park in 1948, it depicts a semi dessert area and is known for its large concentration of lions. The park has had a bad history of ‘Man eaters’ during the construction of the East African Railway, however, it is now a great place to visit on your Kenya Safari. The park is separated from Tsavo West National Park by the A109 road a highway that runs from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Tsavo East National Park is named after the river Tsavo, the park is a flat land area compared to the western part dominated by open savannah grasslands, volcanic hills, acacia woodland, and a riverine forest, this acts as home to several wildlife species including the so-called big five of the wilderness(African buffaloes, lions, leopards, elephants, and Rhinos), other animals spotted are giraffes, elephants, hartebeests, zebras, Kobs,gazelles, Topis, elands, among others over 500 species of birds have been recorded like starlings, common bulbul, buzzards, open bill stock, ostriches, to mention a few.
Driving to Tsavo East National Park takes approximately 325 kilometers from Nairobi, takes 7-8 hours to the destination, and 123km from Mombasa to Buchuma gate about +/-4 hours’drive to the destination, the park can easily be accessed from Malindi via the Sala gate, driving can be on self-drive or through the tour operator, on both ways it is advisable to take a strong car to beat the tough African wilderness, a 4*4 wheel car would be ideal for example safari land cruisers, super customs to mention a few, ensure to have the car well fueled equipped with gears like ropes, spare tyres, a well-stocked first aid kit to mention a few, self-driving in Tsavo East National Park would require you to havea permit to access the park and also hire a game ranger, park, and conservation fees are obtained from the Kenya wildlife service, for convenience it is wise to use a tour operator.
Driving to Tsavo East National Park is best done during the dry season between January -February and June -September, during this time the trails are dry which makes it easy to drive through the well-distributed trails of the ecosystem. It is possible to drive to the park during the wet season except that it comes with some difficult road conditions.
Besides driving to Tsavo East National Park, the other alternative is to fly into the park from either Jomo Kenyatta International Airport or Wilson Airport the nearest airstrip, flights are arranged on a charter option daily, and bookings can be made through a tour operator or directly to the airline, it should be noted thatthere are no direct flights to the destination.
In conclusion, driving to Tsavo East National Park is a scenic beautiful drive through the countryside of Kenya.