Meru Safaris

Of all Kenya's wildlife areas, Meru National Park boasts the widest variety of landscapes and habitats. Forest, swamp and savannah are punctuated by 15 rivers flowing down through the foothills of Mount Kenya, creating a captivating wilderness with seldom more than a handful of visitors staying at the any one time.

Historically, poaching has been a huge problem in Meru, with Somali raiders almost decimating the wildlife populations here by the 1980s. Although security has long since been restored and wildlife numbers recovered, large scale tourism has yet to take hold. Which is good news for those who enjoy going out on safari without encountering another vehicle all day.

In this pleasantly remote sanctuary a great variety of wildlife exists, some in huge quantities. All the Big Five are here and going on a tailor made Meru safari is one of the best places in Kenya to spot cheetah, hyena and leopard. Keep an eye out for northern speciality species too. You might see the unusually patterned reticulated giraffe, or the long-necked gerenuk standing on its hind legs to reach tree branches. There’s also a rhino sanctuary in Meru, which was created to protect the population from poaching, and is a great place to see white, and sometimes black, rhino.

Meru is one of the only National Parks to offer permits for walking safaris. As a result, this has become a bit of a speciality amongst the guides of the area, a particular favourite being getting visitors close up to elephants on foot.