 HIGHLIGHTS
* Cave & geological exploration: Shetani Lava Flow & Caves
* Game viewing: elephant, rhino, lion, etc.
* Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary
* Excellent bird watching: over 600 species
* Mzima Springs - underwater hippo watching
* Excellent views of Mount Kilimanjaro
FACT FILE
* Altitude: 200 m – 1000 m
* Area: 9,000 km2
* Distance from Nairobi: 240 km
* Airstrip: 1
* Opened: April 1948
LOGDES & CAMPS
Finch Hatton’s Camp, Kilaguni Serena Lodge
An observation from a missionary's diary written in 1848 describes this area, then obviously not a national park but pristine wilderness, as "…full of wild beasts, such as rhinoceros, buffaloes and elephants." Later in 1900 the notorious man eating lions, the ‘Man Eaters of Tsavo’, preyed on the railway linesman building the great Uganda Railway. The carriage from which they pulled a traveler is on display in Nairobi Railway Museum.
LANDSCAPE
The park offers tremendous views with diverse habitats ranging from mountains, river forest, lakes and wooded grassland. It has a vast expanse of savanna stretching along the Mombasa-Nairobi road and south to the Tanzanian border. The north eastern boundary along the highway adjoins Tsavo East National Park, but Tsavo West has a more varied topography and a more diverse array of habitats than its neighbour: open plains alternating with Savannah bush and semi desert scrub, acacia woodlands; rocky ridges and outcrops and more extensive ranges and isolated hills; belts of riverine vegetation; palm thickets and on the Chyulu hills, mountain forest.
There are numerous rocky outcrops and ridges and part of the park, towards the Chyulu Hills, is of recent volcanic origin with lava flows and ash cones including the Shetani lava flow.
 At Mzima Springs, in the North of the park, water that has filtered underground from the Chyulu Hills gushes from below a lava ridge into a series of clear pools. With its underwater viewing points for observing resident hippos Mzima Springs is a star attraction and well worth a visit on your Kenya safari.
In the far south western corner of the park is Lake Jipe, part of which is in the park. This very attractive lake is fed by runoff from Mt. Kilimanjaro.
GAME & BIRDS
The park’s diverse habitats give rise to prolific birdlife, with 600 recorded species, and a good variety of wildlife: leopard, giraffe, zebra, lion, reedbuck, bushbuck, gazelle and other plains game, crocodile and small mammals; including mongoose, hyrax, dik dik and the nocturnal porcupine. However, both Tsavo East and West are renowned for their large elephant herds.
Chyulu Hills National Park is an extension of Tsavo West National Park. It was opened in January 1983 to protect its unique habitat and role as a vital water catchment area. The Chyulus are a volcanic mountain range with a mix of volcanic cones and barren lava flows, of which the most interesting is Shetani, meaning "Devil" in Kiswahili. Game include: buffalo, zebra, giraffe, oryx, lion, leopard and many bird and plant species.
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