Meru National Park — Kenya’s Hidden Gem
Meru National Park sits in the northeast of Kenya, about 350 kilometres from Nairobi, on the slopes of the Nyambeni Hills where they drop toward the semi-arid lowlands bordering the Tana River. It is one of Kenya’s least visited parks and one of its most rewarding. The landscape is diverse — riverine forest, open savannah, black cotton soil plains, and the clear-running rivers fed by Mount Kenya that flow through the park’s northern section. The Tana River forms the park’s southern boundary, and beyond it lies the Kora National Reserve where George Adamson spent his last years working with lions until his murder in 1989.
Meru is most famous as the place where Joy and George Adamson rehabilitated Elsa the lioness, documented in the book and film Born Free. The Elsa’s Kopje camp, built on the rock outcrop where George Adamson camped, keeps that history present. The wildlife has recovered significantly since serious poaching in the 1980s and 1990s decimated the population — white rhinos, black rhinos, and elephants have all been successfully reintroduced. Today Meru has Big Five wildlife, far fewer tourists than the major parks, and a wildness that is increasingly difficult to find. If you have done the Mara and the Serengeti and want something genuinely different, Meru delivers it. Ask us about including Meru in your Kenya itinerary.