Amboseli National Park, National park in Kajiado County, Kenya.
Amboseli is a national park in Kajiado County, Kenya, covering around 390 square kilometers of grassland, wetlands and open plains. Mount Kilimanjaro forms the backdrop to the south, its summit rising above the landscape.
In 1883 Jeremy Thompson became the first European to enter the Maasai region called Empusel. The area was set aside in 1906 as the Southern Reserve for the Maasai, then returned to local control as a game reserve in 1948. It was gazetted a national park in 1974 and declared a UNESCO site in 1991.
The name comes from the Maa word for dust or salty ground, reflecting the dry plains and alkaline soils. Visitors often see Maasai herders in traditional red clothing grazing their cattle along the edge of the reserve.
The park lies around 240 kilometers southeast of Nairobi and is accessible via unpaved roads that become more challenging during rainy periods. Early mornings and late afternoons offer the best conditions for animal watching.
Five marsh areas are fed by underground springs from Kilimanjaro and provide water throughout the year. These wet zones attract large elephant herds even when the surrounding grassland is parched.
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