The chyulu hills are a mountain range in Makeuni Country, south Eastern Kenya. It forms a 100 kilometre long volcanic field in elongated NW-SE direction. Its highest peak is 2188m high. The hills are located about 150km east of the Kenya Rift. These hills consist of many small flows and cones, and over time the volcanism propagated towards the south east. These volcanoes are still considered active since their last two eruptions that occurred in 1856. In the hills is the Leviathan cave, one of the longest lava tubes in the world. The Kibwezi town is situated 30km northeast of the Chyulu hills. These hills donot have any permanent rivers, but rainfall on the hills feeds the Tsavo and Galana rivers and Mzima Springs on the surrounding plains.
Ecology of the park
The lower parts of the hills are composed of grassland and t5he thicket, while above the 1800m is dominated by montane forest. some of the mammals found in the hills include; the eastern black Rhinos, cape buffaloes, bush bucks, elands, bush pigs, elephants, leopards, Maasai Lions, giraffes, mountain reedbucks, steenbok, grant’s zebras, cheetahs, and the snakes. There are many bird species on the hills and some of these are endemic races. Bird species include; Pogonocichla, Francolinus and many more.
Chyulu Hills National Park
The Chyulu hills are a mountain range are located in eastern Kenya near the towns of Voi and Tsavo. The hills National Park shares the border with Tsavo National Park. The mountain range’s highest peak is 2188m and the foothills that extend hundreds of kilometres to form the chyulu ranges. These chills form a natural birder that separates the Amboseli and Tsavo eco systems. The park is recorded to have many porous rocks that drain the falling rains and later on flow out at the Mzima springs, Tsavo River and the Galana River. The rest of the Chyulu eco system is savannah grassland, thicket and the montane forests. This national park was gazetted in 1983 and is managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Part of the National park extends into Tsavo west national park while the west chyulu game conservation is a wildlife project managed by private Maasai communities.
The Wildlife species
The Tsavo and the Amboseli regions are known to have more than 500 species of wildlife. Some of the species of mammals in the park include the forest bush pigs, black Rhinos, elephnats, bush buck, mountain reed buck, giraffe, lions, zebras, wildebeest steinbook and Buffalo among others. Some of the reptiles found here include; black mamba, ppuff adder, monitor lizard and rock python. Watch sight of the rare dung beetles, butterflies and the tsetse flies. There are 350 birds that are found in this ecosystem and they include a few rarely sighted species. Some of the birds found here include; Taita Francolin.
The other attractions neasr chyulu park include the lakes, Jipe and Chala on the border with Tsavo west park, clear view of the Kilimanjaro, some kilometres away in Tanzania and cultural tours to the Maasai communities living near the park.
The park is situated a few kilometres off the main Mombasa-Nairobi highway. From Nairobi city, the national park is 230km and 20km from Mombasa Airport. Follow the sign post 1 km past the Kibwezi turn off and then drive 10km to the park gate. All the drives in the park should be with a robust 4wd since the roads are dusty during the summer yet muddy after the rains. There are two air strips in the park while the tourists can alternatively use the airstrips in Tsavo west or Tsavo East National parks. Flights and the charters from Nairobi and Mombasa airports are available at the different airstrips.
The national park is open every day 7:00 to 18:00pm, all through the year. Some of the interesting activities within Chyulu hills national park include hiking, safari walks, camping, horse riding, bird watching, cave exploration and many more. The weather is hot and dry for most of the year hence tourists can visit the park anytime of the year.
There is no major accommodation facility in the park but Kenya wildlife service runs 3 campsites in the park at Kithasyo and a guesthouse at Kiboko. There are luxury safari lodges in Tsavo west national park for overnight and dinner.