The Tsavo West National Park has an area of 9,065 km², which is about 30% of the total area of all parks in Kenya, and its savannahs stretch from the Tanzanian border in the south, the road between Mombasa and […]

The Tsavo West National Park has an area of 9,065 km², which is about 30% of the total area of all parks in Kenya, and its savannahs stretch from the Tanzanian border in the south, the road between Mombasa and Nairobi and the Athi River in the north.

A selected summary of lodges and camps in Tsavo National Park can be found here:here:

This river and the road (A 109) form the common border to the Tsavo East National Park. In the southern part between both parks are private lands, including the Taita Hills, the Lumo Conservation Area and the Sagala Hills, and in the area of the Tsavo Kasigau Wildlife Corridor. On April 1, 1948, the Tsavo National Park was established with a total area of 21,812 km². In May 1949, for administrative reasons, the park was divided into East and West.
The landscape of Tsavo West is very diverse and much more hilly, mountainous and humid than that of the larger Tsavo East. Numerous volcanic cones protrude from the plain. Acacia-Commiphora savannas with single trees dominate the northern part of the park. Single rocks and rocky ridges characterize the landscape. In the densely forested Ngulia area, some rocky hills reach heights of about 1,800 m. In a so called “Rhino sanctuary” some of the last black rhinos of the region are kept in a fenced area under the protection of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). At the foot of the Chyulu Hills lies the Shetani lava field, which was created about 200 years ago and is still largely vegetation-free. The black lava cleans meltwater from Kilimanjaro, which emerges from the spring “Mzima Springs”. It consists of two spring basins from which 250 million litres of crystal clear water flow daily and in which numerous hippos and Nile crocodiles live. A shelter enables the observation of these animals and countless fish under water. Since 1966 a water pipe supplies large parts of Mombasa with this spring water, the southern sector consists of open grass savannahs. The permanent water-bearing Tsavo is accompanied by gallery forests. In the southwest corner of the park is the Jipe Lake, through which the border to Tanzania runs. It is fed by meltwater from Kilimanjaro and rivers from the Pare Mountains.
The fauna of Tsavo West is very rich in species. Due to the dense vegetation, the animals are often difficult to spot. Beside the “Big Five” (elephant, rhino, leopard, African buffalo, lion) several other mammal species live here. The fauna is also very rich and includes many endangered species.

Tsavo Man-Eaters

The Tsavo Man-Eaters were a notorious pair of man-eating lions responsible for the deaths of a number of construction workers on the Kenya-Uganda railway from March to December 1898. In March 1898, the British began building a railway bridge across the Tsavo River in Kenya. The project was led by Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Patterson. Over the next nine months of construction, two male Tsavo lions walked through the camp, pulling Indian workers out of their tents at night and devouring them. The exact number of people killed by the lions is unclear. Patterson claims a total of 135 victims. Based on bone samples, it is estimated that about 35 victims were killed today.