Serena Lodge at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya

Amboseli National Park is in Loitoktok District, Rift Valley Province of Kenya, about 250 kilometres southeast of the capital Nairobi, close to the border with Tanzania.

The park is 39,206 hectares (392 square kilometres; 151 square miles) in size that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border. On a clear day there are views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to view free-ranging elephants. The park has plains and wetlands, which the elephants wander around freely. The climate can change from drought to flood, so the landscape can change from one season to another.

Amboseli has an underground water supply, filtered through thousands of feet of volcanic rock from Mount Kilimanjaro’s ice cap, which funnel into two clearwater springs in Amboseli National Park.

Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge is located within Amboseli National Park, which lies close to the Tanzanian border. There is only one other accommodation lodge located within the national park, about 6 kilometres from the Serena.

The Serena Safari Lodge is surrounded by acacia trees, overlooking the Kapiti plains. The luxury rooms are single-stoned buildings with Masai-inspired hand-painted wall frescos, mosquito-curtaining, bathroom (with walk-in shower), writing desk, and private veranda.

Visitors cross a small wooden bridge and water garden to the central dining area. There is also a large lounge and bar with a broad terrace for viewing the plains, where staff continuously serve tea and coffee throughout the day. Next to this area is an outdoor swimming pool.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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