Tsavo National Park is a combination of two parks namely the Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park that came to separation after the construction of the railway line.
A combination of both the East and West sectors of Tsavo National Park make Tsavo National Park the largest national park in Kenya 22000km2 located in the coast province of Kenya in the center of Nairobi city and Mombasa in the southwestern part of Kenya.
Tsavo East National Park occupies 13747 km2 of Tsavo national park and it was gazetted in 1948. The eastern side of the park is a semi-arid area and most of the time it is dry, a fact that has kept the grounds flat and the savanna grasslands short which makes it easier to view the wildlife as it tries to shy away in the plain grounds.
Attractions found in Tsavo East National Park include River Galana which flows through the park to the Indian Ocean, Yatta Plateau lying between River Athi and River Tavi renowned for being the world’s longest lava flow, Lugard Falls famous for its rock segments of the frozen lava that were named in honor of Sir Frederick Lugard, Mubanda rock which is a standalone inselberg and it is a source of water to the animals as many are seen gathering around it for refreshment, Aruba dam, Kanderi swamp, Tsava river connecting with River Athi and Galana river among others.
Different from Tsavo East in terms of topology, Tsavo West is steeper, and mountainous and receives relief and convectional rainfall throughout the year due to the presence of different water bodies like Lake Jipe, Mzima springs, swamp maintaining a fresh zoological garden characterized by a green lush of vegetation and grasslands that host a variety of different wildlife like rhinos, hippos, elephants, buffalos, leopards, lions, hartebeests, impalas, elands, fringe eyed oryx, giraffes, kudu among others.
Other attractions found in Tsavo West National Park include: Mzima Springs famous for hippos and crocodiles, Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary which is home to several of Kenya’s endangered black Rhinos, Shena Lava flow made out of the frozen lava forming different caves that are tourist destinations in Kenya.
Wildlife found in the park include lions that are famous as carnivorous cats after the incident that happened when the lions attacked the builders who were constructing the railway and it is believed that they feasted on the humans naming man eaters alongside the baboons, African buffalo, bushbucks, Caracal, Bush duiker, Harvey’s red duiker, common eland, elephants, hyenas, mongoose species, rats, squirrels, warthog among others.
Tsavo National Park is home to over 500 bird species including ostriches, kestrels, buzzards, starlings, weaver birds, kingfishers, hornbills, secretary birds, and herons among others.