Tsavo East is generally flat with dry plains across which the Galana River flows. Other features include the Yatta Plateau, Lugards Falls, Mudanda Rock and Aruba Dam. The reserve is popular for short safaris from the Kenya coast, like Mombasa. Tsavo East is home to all of the Big Five. The park is a stronghold for elephants, and you’ll commonly find them with a reddish appearance from the distinctive red soil of the area. Tsavo is also famous for its maneless lions. The most localized of the many dry country specials that can be found here is the fringe-eared oryx.

Tsavo East offers miles of open plains, bushy grassland and semi-arid shrub. The Galana river is a major feature in the park and is fringed by riverine forests. Another scenic highlight is Mudanda rock, a towering, quartzite (hard, metamorphic rock) formation. Tsavo East is the ideal Kenyan destination for exclusive camping, interesting traversing circuits and adventurous activities. The middles area of the park is where visitors will be shown many rock and cave paintings. Tsavo has a legendary story about its lions, 2 of which became known as 'man-eaters' after many people working on the Kenya-Uganda railway in the ate 1800s were attacked and eaten by this viscious pair. This story was made into a film called The Ghost and the Darkness. The eastern park is much flatter and more arid than its western counterpart, which can be quite swampy. There are stunning water features in the East, but generally it is a vision of dry, rolling savannah.