About Meru National Park

Meru National Park is increasingly re-appearing on safari itineraries. After it was founded in 1966, the park, run by one of Kenya’s most energetic wardens, Peter Jenkins, was a popular destination for safaris. But it fell into neglect in the 1980s, and for more than a decade, into the late 1990s, this entrancing wilderness was virtually off limits due to out-of-control poaching.

Then, championed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, with the support of the EU, the park became a KWS cause célèbre and was comprehensively restored, with newly cut earth roads, a dedicated force of rangers led by a new warden (Peter Jenkins’ son Mark Jenkins), and a poacher-proof rhino sanctuary near the main gate which is home to both white and black rhinos.

Despite its relaunch, Meru is still one of the least visited of Kenya’s big parks, which from the visitor’s point of view is all to the good: this unspoiled 870km² stretch of well-watered, dense bush, acacia woodland and verdant, tall grasslands spiked with weird-looking doum palms is ripe for discovery.

It has game viewing which now easily matches or exceeds the sort of safari experience you’ll have in popular parks such as Tsavo West or Tsavo East, with increasingly frequent sightings of all the ‘Big Five’, plus cheetah and numerous other savannah species. And its handful of camps and lodges includes the exceptionally beautiful Elsa’s Kopje and two boutique, riverside safari camps (both with swimming pools) – Rhino River Camp and Offbeat Meru.