Formerly known as the Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, Amboseli National Park is a tourist destination that is located in the south0eastern part of Kenya. The National Park is home to hundreds of wildlife with different types of animals and bird life and a wonderful landscape that is waiting to be discovered.
The National Park has four functioning gates which can easily be accessed either by road transport or air transport. These gates are the Kimana Gate, the Meshananai gate, the Kitirua gate, and Iremito gate. If you are using road transport, the gates can be accessed from Nairobi using the highway to Namanga before branching off to the gate that you want. For those that are using air transport, there is only one airstrip which is the Amboseli airstrip. This is where you will be picked up by the tour vehicle and taken to your lodge.
Amboseli National park is home to over 1500 elephants that have huge tasks and is shadowed by Kilimanjaro Mountain. It is one of the closest National Park to Nairobi making it easily accessible for tourists using both road and air transport.
Amboseli National park entrance fees
All the four gates found at the Amboseli National Park pay the same entrance fees depending on the category you belong to. The different categories are students, children, adults, non-residents, residents, and citizens. For more information about the park fees, check out our article about park entrance fees to Amboseli National Park.
The gates at Amboseli National Park are distributed evenly and there are a few kilometers between each of the gates. We shall also be discussing the distance between them and below is a detailed explanation of the four gates at the Amboseli National Park.
Kimana Gate
Located in the south-eastern part of the National Park, Kimana Gate is the busiest of all the gates in Amboseli. It is one of the oldest gates at Amboseli and receives many tourists due to its easy accessibility from the roadside. The Kimana gate is located near the park headquarters and is just five minutes away from the Kenya wildlife Authority headquarters making it the easiest and most developed gate with many up-to-date and well-maintained facilities. All your entrance fees to the Amboseli National Park through Kimana gate are paid using a system that was put up by the management and other fees that are paid at the gate include vehicle fees and park stay fees.
- 16.6 kilometers from the gate to the observation hill
- 2 kilometers from Kimana to the Amboseli campsite
- 25.5 kilometers from Kimana gate to Kitirua gate
- 12.9 kilometers from Kimana to Iremito gate
- 16.5 kilometers
Kitirua Gate
Kitirua gate is located in the south-western part of the National Park and acts as both an entrance and an exit. The Gate has clear views of the famous Mountain Kilimanjaro and next to the Kitirua hill. The gate can be accessed through the Namanga road from Namanga town and just like other gates at the park, cashless transactions are the mode of payment for all the fees that are needed for example camping, clearance, and activities.
- 12 kilometers from the gate to Amboseli airstrip
- 9.7 kilometers from Kitirua to the observation hill
- 21.6 kilometers from Kitirua to Iremito gate
- 6.7 kilometers from Kitirua to Lake Amboseli
Meshananai Gate
Meshananai Gate is located in the North-Western part of the National Park and is used as an entrance and exit for the tourists. It is close to Lake Amboseli and also has a cashless payment mode where tourists are supposed to clear all their pending bills before they are allowed to enter the park and exit as well. An estimated distance from the Meshananai gate to other places within and around Amboseli National Park has been listed below
- 16.7 kilometers from Meshananai to Kitirua gate
- 22.4 kilometers from Meshananai to Iremito gate
- 10.7 kilometers from Meshananai to Lake Amboseli
- 18.2 kilometers from Meshananai to the observation hill
- 16.8 kilometers from Meshananai to Amboseli airstrip.
Iremito Gate
Iremito gate is just five hours away from Nairobi and is located in the Eastern part of the National Park. It is found near the Kenya wildlife headquarters and a more developed gate with recent and well-maintained facilities like flashing toilets, bathrooms, and posts among others. Payments are made at the entrance of the gate and note that only cashless transactions are allowed therefore you should not pay using cash because it will not be accepted. Below are some of the estimated distances between Iremito gate and other gates plus campsites.
- 12.2 kilometers from Iremito to the observation hill
- 9.6 kilometers from Iremito to the Amboseli airstrip
- 14.2 kilometers from Iremito to Amboseli campsite
- 12.9 kilometers from Iremito to Kimana gate
- 21.6 kilometers from Iremito to Kitirua gate.
At what time do the gates open and close?
Amboseli National Park opens at 6:00 am and closes at 6:30 pm. It is open on all days of the week including public holidays. You should however note that the gates do not open for anyone after they have been closed so you need to properly plan for your safari well.
Park rules and regulations
Once you have gained entrance to the Amboseli National Park, there are rules and regulations that you must follow otherwise if any of them are broken, you are either fined or banned from the National Park. The rules and regulations that you must follow while within Amboseli include the following:
- Do not drive off the marked roads
- Do not feed the animals
- Do not approach the animals or harass them
- Never take walks within the National park without a tour guide
- Do not leave your vehicle while game driving
- Do not litter the National Park.
The different gates at Amboseli National Park all require tourists to be having a safari card. The safari card can be got from the different gates after paying and they are your ticket to enjoying a well-planned safari in Amboseli National Park.