How to Experience Kenya Big 5?
How to Experience Kenya Big 5? The “Big Five” was a term initially used to describe the five most challenging animals to hunt on foot, including Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalo, and Rhinos. Nowadays, these words have been embraced by the travel sector to indicate the topmost five most famous animals that you can spot on a safari.
Kenya remains one of the few places in the world where you can see all five animals in the wild. To encounter these colossal creatures, you need to head to the parks known for the biggest populations of each species.
1. Maasai Mara National Reserve
If you are mainly interested in seeing Lions and Leopards, then Maasai Mara National Reserve should be on top of your list. As the predator capital of Africa, the Mara is well-known for its vast savannahs complemented by various acacia trees that provide a perfect setting for lions to pose and rest.
However, leopards are more cautious and opt to reside in the thick riverine forests next to the Mara and Talek Rivers.
Besides, the Mara guides are considered to be the best in the world and are therefore very skilled in finding leopards even by just spotting their tails hanging from the branches.
Also, the Mara is the home of the great herds of Cape Buffalo, which you can spot by the waterholes with three out of the five Big Five on your list in just one morning game drive.
2. Amboseli National Park
If you want to come face to face with African Elephants, you should choose no other place than Amboseli National Park. The park is located at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro and is well-known for its “big tuskers,” which are the old elephants whose ivory is so long that it almost touches the ground.
The park’s one-of-a-kind swamp system, which is supplied by the mountain melting snow, attracts hundreds of elephants because it provides water all year round.
One of the best places in Kenya where you can witness a family of gentle giants walking across the dusty plains with Mount Kilimanjaro as a background is in Amboseli.
3. Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Rhinos are the most elusive and challenging member of the Big Five because they have become very rare due to being highly endangered and their natural behavior of being shy.
To see one for sure, you must go to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia. This wildlife sanctuary is the largest black rhino enclosure in East Africa and has the world’s last two northern white rhinos. Unlike the huge national parks where rhinos can hide deep inside the bushes, Ol Pejeta is a managed area where the rangers have the rhinos under their watch all the time.
Therefore, it is the most certain place in Kenya for you to see both the black and white versions of these prehistoric animals.
4. Lake Nakuru National Park.
If you have a short amount of time. Lake Nakuru National Park is a fantastic “all-in-one” destination. Although it is smaller than the Mara, it is a highly protected sanctuary for both the Rhinos and the buffaloes.
The park’s compact size means the wildlife is more concentrated, making it very easy to find four of the Big five (everything except the elephant) in just a few hours.
The sight of the white rhino grazing on the lakeshore surrounded by thousands of pink flamingos is a unique experience that you will not find anywhere else in the world.
The entire “Big Five” and a “Southern Circuit Safari” would be ideal. Begin in Amboseli for elephants, proceed to Ol Pejeta for rhinos, and conclude with the Maasai Mara to see lions, tigers, and buffaloes.
