Amboseli Travel Guide

Amboseli National Park sits in southern Kenya at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, famed for elephant herds and the reflection of Africa's highest peak. In the dry season elephants stroll the plains with the snowy summit as backdrop — the classic stage to frame giants and snow together, and shoot Africa's iconic postcard.

Observation Hill is the only hilltop in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, where visitors may disembark and walk to the summit for a 360° panorama. This conical knoll at the edge of the swamp offers the full Amboseli vista — swamps and elephant trails below, elephant herds among yellow acacia, and Mount Kilimanjaro's snow-capped peak appearing through clouds — the golden vantage for photographing elephants with Kilimanjaro. Amboseli is famous as "elephant paradise under Kilimanjaro," and Observation Hill is the best spot for this classic image. The hill is low — about 15-20 minutes to summit — but the top is windy and exposed. Dawn and dusk are best — soft light, active elephants, highest chance of Kilimanjaro clearing. Elephants, zebras, wildebeest and waterbirds frequent the swamp below. Climbing Observation Hill for the sweeping view of elephant paradise and Africa's highest peak is a classic highlight of any Kenyan safari.