Travel Guide Meru National Park

Meru National Park remains little known. A victim of spectacular poaching in the early 1980s, Meru has long remained on the bangs of the tourist circuit and still struggles to attract visitors today It is here that Joy and George Adamson settled with their lioness Elsa. Sadly, their commitment to animal rights was to cost them their lives. Joy was murdered in Meru by poachers (according to the official version) and a few years later, in 1989, George and two of his assistants were found dead in the nearby Kora Reserve. Today, there is no real danger, but Meru has retained its bad reputation. It is a pity, because it is an exciting park, of a great richness and which knew to preserve its wild character.The park receives very heavy rains that pour down the eastern flank of Mount Kenya. Numerous rivers fed by these waters run through Meru Park, hence the great variety of landscapes, with Mount Kenya in the background. Dense forests, swamps, large semi-desert plains, savannahs provide food and shelter to all kinds of herbivores (Grevy's zebras, bohor reed antelopes, buffalos, giraffes, elephants, eastern black rhinoceroses, hippos...) and their predators (lions, cheetahs, leopards...). The presence of water also attracts a large number of birds and raptors, of which more than 400 species have been recorded.Meru National Park is surrounded by four national reserves that are only accessible by 4x4 and do not offer any accommodation. These reserves are in fact mainly dedicated to scientists. Bisanadi is located in the north, Rahole in the east, Mwingi (formerly North Kitui) in the south and Kora, opposite Meru, on the other side of the Tana River. In the Kora Reserve, the scenery is absolutely superb, especially along the Tana River. It is here that George Adamson had settled at the end of his life. A bridge makes it possible to cross the Tana River and thus to connect Meru to Kora; the passage remains however difficult, even impossible after big rains..