| Meru National Park | | | | the trip to Meru alone. |
| This national park is the cornerstone of the Meru | | | | Meru National Park Information |
| Conservation Area, a 4000-sq-km expanse that also | | | | Entrance to Meru National park (adult/child US$27/10) |
| includes the adjacent Kora National Park, and Bisanadi, | | | | doesn't entitle you to enter the adjacent Kora |
| Mwingi and North Kitui Nation Reserves (which are | | | | National Park (child/adult US$27/10). Visit into Kora |
| closed), covering the lowland plains east of Meru | | | | must be prearranged with Meru's warden. |
| town. | | | | At present you need to have a 4WD or be on a |
| KWS has big plans for this park. In the 1970s the | | | | tour to visit. Most road junctions are numbered, so |
| population of rhinos and elephants could pull in up to | | | | KWS' Meru National Park map (Kshs450), sold at the |
| 40,000 visitors a year, but banditry and poaching | | | | gate, its essential if you want to find your way |
| during the 1980s effectively put paid to tourist here, | | | | around. |
| wiping out the white rhinos and leaving the area | | | | Accommodation in Meru National Park |
| almost abandoned until in the 1990s. | | | | Bwatherongi Bandas & Campsite (adult/child US$ |
| Today, substantial foreign investment, notably from | | | | 10/5, bandas per person US$ 15;) perhaps the best |
| French development agencies and the international | | | | KWS camp in all of Kenya, this site has great |
| funds for Animals Welfare (IFAW), has enabled a | | | | showers, toilets, barbecue pits, a swimming pool and |
| flurry of rehabilitation projects: a new rhino sanctuary | | | | an askari (security guard) in attendance. |
| opened in 2001 and now houses 25 rhinos (24 of | | | | There are also four excellent thatched bandas with |
| them white), a new sealed access road is half | | | | shady verandas, twin beds, kerosene lamps, |
| completed, all the main park roads have been | | | | mosquito nets, decent bathrooms and small sofas. |
| upgraded, and there's now a bridge across the Tana | | | | Special Campsites (adult/child US$15/5; plus set-up |
| River at Adamson's Falls (worth a visit) accessing | | | | free KShh5000) there are about a dozen of these |
| Kora National Park. | | | | bush campsites (on Facilities) located through out the |
| With security long since settled, these improvements | | | | park. The gate will let you know which are currently |
| are starting to payoff and visitor numbers are | | | | open. |
| steadily climbing, from a meager 1000 in 1997 to well | | | | Murera Education Centre (bandas per person US$15) |
| over 10,000 in 2004. With two luxury lodges and | | | | this center's bandas by the main gate should only |
| some of the best budget option in any Kenya's | | | | considered if Bwathereongi's bandas are full. Ask at |
| national parks, Merus's fortunes should soon be on | | | | the gate for details. |
| the up again. Visit soon and you'll still feel like you | | | | Elsa's Kopje (mid-Mar-Mid-Jun & Nov-Mid-Dec full |
| have this blissful to yourself. | | | | board s/d US$320/600, Jan-Mid-Mar, mid-Jun-July |
| This resurgence is definitely is a good thing, as the | | | | & Mid-Sep-Oct US$450/760, rest of the year |
| park is a complete constant to the nearby savannah | | | | US$520/920) wake to glorious panoramic views and |
| reserves of Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba. | | | | sweet breezes in this gorgeous open-fronted |
| Abundant rainfall and numerous permanent | | | | thatched cottages that blend seamlessly into in the |
| watercourses flowing down from the Mt Kenya | | | | upper ranches of Mughwango Hill. |
| massif support a luxuriant jungle of forest, bush, | | | | This place is the definition of sensitively designed |
| swamp and tall grasses, which, in turn, provide fodder | | | | luxury. A rock out crop seemingly burst through the |
| to a wide variety of herbivores and shelter to them | | | | floor of cottages number one, where steps lead |
| and to their predators. | | | | down to a stunning outdoor bathtub hewn into the |
| This is one of the geographically diverse parks in | | | | cliff itself. The pool and surrounds are equally sublime. |
| Kenya and a favorite with the Safari cognoscenti; | | | | The hefty prices include three wildlife drives (one at |
| you need to spend a few days here to fully | | | | night), walking safaris, fishing and transfers. |
| appreciate what the park has to offer. | | | | Leopard Rock Lodge ( Apr-Jun full board s/d from |
| While on the rise, wildlife is still not as abundant here | | | | US$285/440, Jul-Mar US$340/515;) with landscape |
| as in other parks. To make things more challenging, | | | | gardens, a stilled restaurant on the Murera River and |
| the limited elephant numbers have led to an increase | | | | comfortable cottages, this lodge would shine |
| in vegetation cover, making it difficult to sport those | | | | anywhere else in Kenya, but here its entirely |
| species that do exist. However, with a little patience | | | | outmatched by the stunning beauty of Elsa's Kopje. |
| you can see elephants, (often found in the marshy | | | | The lodge arranges similar activities to Elsa's, but |
| Bisanadi plains in the north of the park.) | | | | charges extra. |
| Leopards, lions and cheetahs along with, lesser kudus, | | | | Getting there and away |
| elands, waterbucks, gazelles and oryxes. Buffaloes, | | | | Simply put, there's no point reaching the park without |
| reticulated giraffes, and gravy zebras are common | | | | a vehicle. If you don't want to join a tour, your |
| while monkeys, crocodiles, and a plethora of bird | | | | cheapest option is to acquire a 4WD (and drive) |
| species, including the palm nut vultures and Marshall | | | | from a local in the village of Maua, which is 31km |
| Eagles, can be found in the dense vegetation along | | | | from the gate. Regular matatus service Maua from |
| the water courses. A drive through the overgrown | | | | Meru town (Kshs100, one hour). |
| jungles that shadows the Tana River is well worth | | | | |