Shimba Hills National Reserve

Welcome
Atlas
Guides
Travel specialists

§ 01

Welcome to Shimba Hills National Reserve

The insider's travel guide to Shimba Hills National Reserve

A densely forested coastal park, the reserve is made up of rainforest and grassland. Inland from Diani Beach, Shimba Hills is a good place for a short safari or a family safari.

The park is mainly visited for its large population of forest elephants, with an estimated 700 individuals in the park. It is the only place in Kenya where you can spot the stately sable antelope.

Other species include warthogs, baboons, vervet monkeys, buffalo and some giraffes which were introduced as well as being an important area for butterflies and birds.

Half and full day safaris can be organised from local beach resorts south of Mombasa.

§ 02

The Shimba Hills National Reserve atlas

1 picks Places & Experiences You Won't Find Elsewhere

Just inland of the popular Diani Beach, Shimba Hills makes for a brilliant short safari from the coast. The densely vegetated park has a large and visible elephant population and is the only place in Kenya where the stately sable antelope can be seen. There’s also plentiful warthogs, baboons, vervet monkeys, buffalo and some introduced giraffes. Half and full day safaris can be easily organised from most of the beach resorts south of Mombasa. It’s a good bet for a family safari.

Shimba Hills National Reserve

Find a travel specialist

Plan my trip →

§ 03

Dispatches

Guides & field notes

Article

Decolonising African travel—and travel writing

Mazuba Kapambwe

Travel writing in Africa has always been an overwhelmingly white affair. Early accounts from 19th century explorers like Henry Morton Stanley and fiction writers like Joseph Conrad depicted Africa as uncivilised, mysterious and barbaric, reflecting the racist attitudes that underpinned European empire building.