Wilderness >> Meru

Meru National Park lies eighty-five kilometers east of Meru town on the north-eastern lowlands below Nyambene Hills, and about 370 kilometers north-east of Nairobi. Meru National Park is wild and beautiful and the Tana River bringing life to the land, an especially beautiful area of Kenya this remote region is a lush green Eden.

The Mara reserve, gazetted in Straddling the equator and crossed by numerous permanent streams, draining from the Nyambenes and flowing in parallel between tounges of lava, south eastwards towards the Tana River. As well as the many streams that cross it, the park is bounded by three large rivers: the Tana to the South, the Ura to the South West and the Rojeweru to the East. There are several prominent inselbergs of basement rock, notably Mughwango and Leopard rock. A section of the park has been designated as a wilderness area. It has diverse scenery from woodlands at 3,000 feet on the slopes of Nyambeni Mountain Range, northeast of Mount Kenya, to wide open plains with wandering riverbanks dotted with Doum Palms.

The best time to see game in Meru is early morning and late afternoon. In the midday heat, most animals retreat to the cool of thick undergrowth and become invisible. Morning and afternoon game drives also allow you to witness the unforgettable African dawn and sunsets. There is a great variety of wildlife at Meru, including Lion, Elephant, Cheetah, Leopard and some of the rarer Antelopes; lesser Kudu, Duiker and Dik Dik, one of Africa's smallest antelopes. Large prides of Lion can be seen and some of Kenya's largest herds of Buffalo. The rivers abound with Hippo and Crocodile. In the mid 1980's, the Park suffered from poaching, however Kenya Wildlife Service armed wildlife security patrols have driven out the poachers and the elephant population has stabilised with breeding herds settling down. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded including: the Peter's Fin foot which inhabits the Murera and Ura Rivers, the Pel's Fishing Owl, Kingfishers, Rollers, Bee-eaters, Starlings and numerous Weavers.


The Park is popularly known as Elsa Country where the late world famous Joy Adamson reared the orphaned lioness and later rehabilitated her in the wild. Joy Adamson's wrote book "Born Free" -- the story of the Adamson's life and research amongst lion and cheetah. "Elsa" the lioness was the most well-known .She also raided Pipa the cheetah, made famous in her book “The Spotted Sphinx” and later released her into the bush. Wildlife is prolific and varied.

The wildebeests crossing the Mara river is comical yet sad. The long rains flood the rivers, and yet the wildebeests senselessly force their way upstream, and this causes many deaths and injuries. But that is natures way of dealing with it all; the wildebeests fresh death bring lions, vultures, jackals and hyenas who complete the food chain part of the migration.

Further along the Tana River from Meru, there is access to the smaller Kora National Park, and three reserves Bisanadi, North Kitui, and Rahole