The Enkongo Narok and Longinye swamps are the heart of the park. Elephant families spend the middle of the day feeding chest-deep in the water and papyrus, and this is where you see the behaviour Amboseli is known for — extended families moving together, calves learning, and the big bulls that carry some of the heaviest tusks left in Africa.

The dry lake bed of Lake Amboseli in the west is a shimmering dust flat for most of the year, atmospheric in the right light and good for the dry-country species. It floods after heavy rain and becomes a shallow lake full of waterbirds — a completely different landscape.

Observation Hill is the one place you are permitted to get out and walk, and the view over the swamps is the best way to understand how the park fits together and where the herds are.

The open plains hold zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and predators, though lion and cheetah numbers here are modest compared with the Mara — come for the elephants and treat the cats as a bonus.

The dry months of June to October and January to February give the best mountain views and the most concentrated game. Kilimanjaro itself is usually clouded by mid-morning, so first light and the last hour are when the famous shot is possible at all.

Practicalities

Amboseli is roughly a four-hour drive from Nairobi or a short flight to the park airstrip. The surrounding Maasai group ranches run conservancies where night drives and walking are permitted, neither of which is allowed inside the national park — worth a night if you want activities the park itself cannot offer.