menu cross down-arrow up-arrow
  • Contact Us
    • Work with Us
    • Media
  • About Us
  • Photos
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
The #1 Adventure Travel blog featuring travel advice, tips, and inspiration from around the world. Plan your next adventure today!

The Planet D: Adventure Travel Blog

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Destinations
    • Africa
    • Antarctica
    • Asia
    • Caribbean
    • Central America
    • Europe
    • North America
    • Oceania
    • South America
  • Logo
  • Travel Blog
  • Itineraries
  • Travel Tips
    • Best Travel Tips
    • Budget Travel Tips
    • Resources

Amboseli National Park – Kenya’s Royal Court

Home » Africa » Kenya

Updated: January 17, 2021 by The Planet D

Amboseli National Park – Kenya’s Royal Court

There are two reasons to visit Kenya’s Amboseli National Park.

One, to see the magnificent population of elephants and two, to witness the extraordinary view of Mount Kilimanjaro. It is from Amboseli National Park that you can see the iconic view of the roof of Africa that is so well known from movies and magazines.

Experience Amboseli National Park

Unfortunately we arrived in Kenya at the beginning of the rainy season so Mount Kilimanjaro was shrouded in cloud. We never did get to see the roof of Africa in all her glory, but every once in a while her glacier peeked out from above the clouds.

The lower mountains were in full view and they made for a spectacular sight in their own right and this is the view at sunset just before we settled into our lodge in the centre of the park.

If you travel to Kenya during the high season or dry season, you will definitely have a good chance of seeing the iconic mountain.

If you are interested in more of Mount Kilimanjaro, check out our climb up there in 2008 while visiting Tanzania.

kenya safari amboseli wildebeest

A Wildebeest running just outside Serena Lodge

Lodging at Amboseli National Park

We stayed at the Amboseli, Serena Safari Lodge nestled in the heart of the park. Sitting on a high plateau, one can enjoy high tea while looking out over the African Savanna. We watched zebras and baboons saunter in the long grass below while enjoying the African sun.

Serena Safari Lodge Amboseli

Serena Lodge

Check Rates and bookings in Amboseli National Park, Serena Safari Lodge

The hotel is surrounded by rich vegetation and swamps fed by the melting snow of Kilimanjaro. From the comfort of a lounge chair, you can spy elephants and hippos going about their day as monkeys play in nearby trees.

Going to Kenya? You may want to check out these items.

  • Get your Lonely Planet Travel Guide to Kenya on Amazon
  • Get your pocket guide to wildlife including the Big 5 of Kenya on Amazon
  • Birds may not be a part of the Big 5 but people love them and there are a lot of bird species in Africa, get your guide on Amazon. 
monkey amboseli Kenya

Monkey Hides at Serena Lodge

We only spent one day in Amboseli National Park and while we felt ready to move on to see more of Kenya after an evening and morning safari, we did love the lodge so much we could have spent days enjoying the pool and magnificent views.

Our First Kenya Safari

We met our guide from Journeys International, Makau at 4:00 pm to begin our evening safari. Sunset is when all the animals come out, so we were hoping to spy a few of the ‘Big 5.’ (Buffalo, Rhinos, Elephants, Lions & Leopards – aka – BRELL)

Elephant in Africa

First of the Big 5 – Elephant

Within minutes of leaving the lodge, we spotted several elephants. Amboseli is known for it’s elephant population and it lives up to the hype. You will see elephants at every turn.

It is an exciting thing to see an elephant in the wild for the first time. They are so peaceful and elegant.

An elephant seems to glide over the land with ease.

They look as if they are moving slow, but if you follow them for a distance you will see how much ground they cover quickly.

elephants in long grass

Amboseli is known for its elephants

They stay close to each other and protect their young.

While watching the elephant, I cannot understand how poachers can senselessly kill them for nothing but their ivory tusks to sell to the Asian market.

I plea to the people of Asia to stop buying ivory for medicinal purposes or ornaments. It must be stopped.

Other Wildlife

Time goes quickly on a Kenyan safari and the sun started to go down fast.

We kept our eyes peeled for more wildlife and we managed to see quite a bit in Amboseli.

Besides the usual impalas and gazelles we saw hyenas, giraffes in the distance, zebras, hippos hiding in the water and our very first warthog.

warthog kenya safari

The Warthog is so ugly it’s cute!

The Warthog has become my new favourite animal. Our guide Makau told us that the warthog has a very short attention span.

They spook easily and run away when you approach, but they quickly forget why they were running in the first place and stop to have a look.

We caught this guy as he was having a look. They’re absolutely adorable to watch as they scamper around the Savanna.

Missed out on Big Cats, but Saw them in the Masai Mara

As our safari at Amboseli came to an end we gave up on spotting any big cats of Africa here.

That was going to have to wait until the Masai Mara, but we did manage to spy the serval cat.

Serval Cat in Amboseli NP

Serval cat is rare to see

We noticed something running through the long grass and to our delight two serval cats were playing.

They didn’t seem to mind us being around and kept playing while we watched from our safari van. This was just a sign of things to come.

Our time at Amboseli National Park was drawing to a close.

We had seen a few of the animals that one can only see in Africa and we were now itching to see more.

Amboseli is one of Kenya’s most popular national parks, but I had a feeling that the next two stops were going to be far more exciting when it came to spotting wildlife.

For more information on safaris to Amboseli National park and safaris to Kenya contact our friend Makau at Wilderness Zones Safaris.


Read More

Incredible Lake Nakuru

The Masai Mara Experience

Born Free Lives on in Kenya

On Safari in Tanzania – The Ultimate Wildlife Experience

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard

About The Planet D

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past 13 years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. Being recognized as top travel bloggers and influencers by the likes of Forbes Magazine, the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field.

WebsiteFacebook

Categories: Kenya

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Okwakunda Emmanuel says

    August 31, 2020 at 3:53 am

    Amazing article 🙂

    Reply
  2. Grace says

    September 27, 2018 at 8:35 am

    Wow this is amazing. I reminds me of the trip i had in Kidepo in Uganda.
    The views here are spectacular.

    Reply
  3. Laurel says

    January 9, 2013 at 4:33 am

    Incredible photos! I’m so jealous that you got to see a serval cat! I haven’t been to Kenya yet but would love to go. Mt. Kilimanjaro is also on my long list. Great photos as always!

    Reply
    • debndave says

      January 9, 2013 at 10:10 am

      It was really cool to see, they’re so small and fast in that long grass, but we just caught them out of the corner of our eye. Little cuties.

      Reply
  4. http://www.overlandermountainlodge.com/ says

    January 9, 2013 at 12:08 am

    Is there such a thing? I just can’t believe how those creatures look like. They look so odd.

    Reply

welcome

Hi we’re Dave and Deb, a Canadian adventure couple who left our careers in the film industry 10 years ago to travel the world. We’ve been to 115 countries on all seven continents and were named one of the top travel influencers on earth by Forbes.

Read our Story

Join the exclusive Planet D travel tribe

Get instant access to all the tools you need to travel more. And receive a free travel checklist to get you started.

    Start Planning Your Adventure

    Archives

    Popular Posts

    About

    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Press & Media
    • Partner With Us
    • Disclosure / Privacy Policy

    Travel Tips

    • Start Here
    • Destinations
    • The Blog
    • Photos

    Travel Resources

    • City Guides
    • Suggested Companies
    • Travel Advice

    Go Social

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    The Planet D © 2021 · Web Design by Grace and Vine Studios