Amboseli National Park, The Best place to view elephants

Amboseli National Park is located right at the foot of Africa's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro (19, 340 feet). Feeding on the lush grasses, elephants abound in its forest and swamps. Cheetahs prowl the salt flats. Giraffes wander through the forest, while zebras and wildebeest feed on the open plains. The snow-capped dome of the Kibo Peak forms a magnificent backdrop, making this gem of a park a photographer’s paradise. Accommodations are available in a number of camps and lodges.

Amboseli National Park

GAME PARKS AND RESERVES

Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park

Kilimanjaro, by any name, is a metaphor for the compelling beauty of East Africa. Not only is this the highest peak on the African continent; it is also the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, rising in breathtaking isolation from the surrounding coastal scrubland to an imperious 5,895 metres (19,336 feet). Also known as the ‘roof of Africa’ or ‘the mountain of Light’, Kilimanjaro is one of the world's most accessible high summits, a beacon for visitors from around the world.

Most climbers reach the crater rim with little more than a walking stick, proper clothing and determination. And those who reach Uhuru Point, the actual summit, or Gillman's Point on the lip of the crater, they will have earned their climbing certificates and their memories.

But there is so much more to Kili than her summit. The ascent of the slopes is a virtual climatic world tour from the tropics to the Arctic. The cultivated foot slopes give way to lush montane forest, inhabited by elusive elephant, leopard, buffalo, the endangered Abbot’s duiker, and other small antelope and primates. Higher still lays the moorland zone, where a cover of giant heather is studded with otherworldly giant lobelias.

Above 4,000m, a surreal alpine desert supports little life other than a few hardy mosses and lichen. Then, finally, the last vestigial vegetation gives way to a winter wonderland of ice and snow – and the magnificent beauty of the roof of the continent.