What's on in Amboseli (Amboseli National Park), Kenya through the year

Busy — Festive season peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Kilimanjaro behind cloud (1 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Migrants on Lake Amboseli (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually)), Festive season peak (18 Dec – 5 Jan (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Kilimanjaro behind cloud (1 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Migrants on Lake Amboseli (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  The long rains

  15 Mar – 20 May · usuallyMonsoon

  The long rains push the game away from the swamps and turn the black-cotton tracks to grease. Camps drop their rates and a few shut altogether, so the park belongs to whoever is willing to get stuck.

Still on: Kilimanjaro behind cloud (1 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Migrants on Lake Amboseli (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: The long rains (15 Mar – 20 May (usually)), Kilimanjaro behind cloud (1 Nov – 15 May (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: The long rains (15 Mar – 20 May (usually)), Kilimanjaro behind cloud (1 Nov – 15 May (usually))

Busy — Dry season at the swamps, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Dry season at the swamps

  1 Jun – 15 Oct · usuallyCrowded

  Everything outside the Kilimanjaro-fed swamps dries out, so the elephant herds and what follows them concentrate into a few square kilometres. It is the easiest game viewing of the year and the busiest.

Busy — Dry season at the swamps, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Dry season at the swamps (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Dry season at the swamps, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Dry season at the swamps (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Dry season at the swamps, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Dry season at the swamps (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — Dry season at the swamps, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Dry season at the swamps (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  The short rains

  1 Nov – 15 Dec · usuallyMonsoon

  Sharp afternoon storms rather than settled rain, and the dust goes out of the air. Camps stay open and quiet, the plains green over within days and the tracks hold up most years.

• Season

  Kilimanjaro behind cloud

  1 Nov – 15 May · usuallyFog season

  The mountain everyone comes to photograph spends most of the wet months behind cloud, and even in the dry season it tends to show itself only around dawn and again at dusk. Plan the picture for first light.

• Nature

  Migrants on Lake Amboseli

  15 Nov – 31 Mar · usuallyBirdlife season

  The rains put water back into the pan and the migrants arrive with it: waders, storks and flamingos on a lake bed that is bare dust for the rest of the year.

Busy — Festive season peak, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Festive season peak

  18 Dec – 5 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Nairobi empties into the parks over Christmas and New Year, and Amboseli's lodges charge peak rates and fill months ahead. Book by September or take the second week of January instead. Source ↗

Still on: The short rains (1 Nov – 15 Dec (usually)), Kilimanjaro behind cloud (1 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Migrants on Lake Amboseli (15 Nov – 31 Mar (usually))