Amboseli National Park

Visitors walk along the remnants of a Pleistocene lake where shallow water gives way to semiarid vegetation, then follow boardwalks that wind through two of the five main swamps supporting 400 bird species. Pelicans, kingfishers, crakes and hamerkop glide over the water while 47 raptor species patrol the open sky, offering constant movement for birdwatchers.

The park’s most celebrated residents are African bush elephants, whose large numbers have been monitored since 1972 by Cynthia Moss. The herd once included Echo, the most researched elephant in the world, whose life was recorded for almost four decades until her death in 2009 at about 60 years old. Alongside the elephants, between 50 and 80 other mammals roam the plains, including yellow baboons, Cape buffalo, impala, Southeast African lion, East African cheetah, spotted hyena, Masai giraffe, Grant’s zebra and eastern white‑bearded wildebeest.

Set aside as a Southern Reserve for the Maasai in 1906, the area became a game reserve in 1948, was gazetted as a national park in 1974 and received UNESCO designation in 1991. The juxtaposition of towering Kilimanjaro, shimmering swamps and a thriving elephant population makes Amboseli a uniquely vivid portrait of Kenya’s wildlife heritage.