Get to Know Meru National Park
The most untrammelled of Kenya’s major safari reserves, Meru is a superb Big Five destination almost recovered from the poaching that nearly destroyed it in the 1980s
Extending over 870-square-kilometres of lush well-watered savannah east of Mount Kenya, Meru National Park is transitional to the moist central highlands and arid northern plains of Kenya. Wildlife, though plentiful, can be quite elusive, and the park is most notable perhaps for its untrammelled wilderness feel. Nevertheless, it is a good place to see localised large mammals associated with the arid north, including the handsome reticulated giraffe, striking Beisa oryx, shy lesser kudu and stretch-necked gerenuk antelope. The Big Five are all present too: with large herds of buffalo being a feature of the marshes, while more than 50 black and white rhinos have been introduced into a large fenced area since 2005.