Tsavo: red elephants and black lava

Tsavo is big, wild and red. Together, Tsavo East and Tsavo West cover around 22,000 square kilometres, about four per cent of Kenya, and you can drive for an hour without seeing another vehicle.

The two parks are split by the Nairobi to Mombasa road and railway, which makes Tsavo the easiest big safari to combine with a beach holiday. They feel very different, so it is worth knowing which one suits you.

Tsavo West: springs, hills and lava

Tsavo West is the smaller and more scenic of the two, with hills, volcanic cones and greener bush. Its highlight is Mzima Springs, where crystal-clear water from the Chyulu Hills bubbles up into pools full of hippos and crocodiles. An underwater viewing chamber lets you watch them from below.

Nearby, the Shetani lava flow is a field of black volcanic rock that spills across the plain; its name means "devil" in Swahili. Tsavo West also has a fenced rhino sanctuary at Ngulia.

Tsavo East: open plains and red elephants

Tsavo East is larger, flatter and drier, with big open views. It is famous for its red elephants, coloured by the iron-rich dust they spray over themselves. Along the Galana River, Lugard Falls is a run of rapids through a narrow rock channel, and the Yatta Plateau, one of the longest lava flows in the world, runs along the park's western edge.

This is also where the "man-eaters of Tsavo", two lions that hunted railway workers in 1898, made the park famous.

When to go

The dry seasons, June to October and January to February, are best: animals gather at the rivers and waterholes, and the tracks are easier. The rains in April and May turn everything green, but some tracks become hard to use.

Getting there

Mtito Andei Gate for Tsavo West is about 240 km from Nairobi, or around four hours on the Mombasa Road. Voi, for Tsavo East, is about 330 km. The SGR train also stops at Mtito Andei and Voi, so you can arrive by train and be met at the station.