Start your tour with a pickup from the hotel or airport then proceed to Amboseli is one of Kenya's oldest, famous and most-visited parks. Endlessly panoramic, yet comparatively compact, it is dotted with emerald green swamps in which great herds of elephant wallow half submerged in the papyrus grasses. The permanent marshlands also provide a potent draw to hippos and buffaloes, while offering a haven for the abundant water birds. An International Biosphere Reserve, the park largely constitutes the usually dried-out lakebed of Lake Amboseli, which is surrounded by flat grasslands relieved by very few trees. On the plains are numerous antelopes, spotted hyenas, jackals, warthogs, olive baboons and vervet monkeys. Observation Hill, a conical peak, which is easily climbed, offers stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro and the plains as far as the eye can see.