Wilderness >> Amboseli

Amboseli is the second most popular park in Kenya. Amboseli is located in the Rift Valley province, close to the Tanzanian border northwest of Kilimanjaro. Amboseli was established as a reserve in 1968 and gazetted as a National Park in 1974 with an extension of 392 km², though it is surrounded by a much larger reserve in which the Maasai people settle and breed their cattle. It is a land of giants because of it elephant populations and large herds, including some impressively tusked bulls are drawn to a series of large, lush swamplands and the most impressive giant of all is Mt Kilimanjaro. This mountain lies just over the border in Tanzania, but the most impressive views of its snow-capped peak are to be found in Amboseli. The early light of dawn turns the mountain a dark hue of purple, and its snows into an ethereal pink. The sight of Kilimanjaro high above herds of elephant crossing the plains of Amboseli is a timeless African image.

The Amboseli territory is the home of the Maasai communities centred around the Amboseli National Park. Massai are the legendary tribe of nomad warriors and shepherds that feed on a mixture of blood and milk. The Maasai keep living today in the reserve surrounding the park the way they always did, grazing their herds around the plains and moving their household searching for the best pastures. Along their migrations, restricted today by encroachment of their territories, the Maasai build their settlings, the enkang' or more popularly manyatta or emanyata, using wooden sticks and poles plastered with cow manure. With their long and slender bodies, their proud and hieratic faces their colored clothes and their plated and red-stained hair.

The most obvious resident is the large elephant herds, and they are impossible to miss. Elephants are a continual presence throughout the park, and this provides plenty of opportunities to observe and learn from a wide variety of their social behaviour. With a well trained guide, it is easy to understand and follow the social heirachy of each herd, and their constant social interaction. Whether it is the deep affection between a cow and her calf or a spectacular battle for dominance between two full tusked bulls, elephant behaviour is always fascinating.

Amboseli has very unique ecosystem. Overall this is a place of wide dry plains; the maximum average temperature of the warmest month is 33°C during the day, while that of the coldest is 27-28°C. Annual rainfalls are scarce, in the range of 350-400 mm and are distributed in two seasons: April/May and November/December. The northwestern area is occupied by the dry bed of the Amboseli Lake. For a large part of the year there is nothing but during the wet season, the rains flood the lake bed. Though, this plentiful water does not sustain a rich vegetal variety. The cause is the high salt deposits in the lake bed, which the flood dilute and disperse hindering plant growth. For this reason few trees grow in the park, only small patches of acacia and some palm trees far off the lake.

Regardless of the first impression of a dusty and arid land, actually Amboseli is overflowing with water all the year round, but under the ground. The snows of Kilimanjaro melt and flow downhill, soaking the porous subsoil layers of volcanic rocks. Waters converge into various underground streams, that rise in two clear water springs in the center of the park and giving birth to large marshes like the Loginya Swamp.