At the rates in force this October, a non-resident adult entering Amboseli National Park pays USD 90 for a day, and a Kenyan citizen pays KES 1,500. Both rates come from the Kenya Wildlife Service’s current tariff, and the money goes through KWS. A year ago that was meant to be changing.

The Handover We Reported in November 2025

Amboseli’s management was gazetted for transfer to Kajiado County in October 2025. Two months later the High Court suspended it. The Kenya News Agency reported the terms of the deed, gazetted on 24 October 2025. The county would run conservation, wildlife security and tourism operations for 15 years, while ownership stayed with KWS. Revenue would be split equally in the 2026/27 financial year. The county’s share would then rise to 70 per cent in 2027/28. From 2028/29 the county would keep everything except 5 per cent, held by the national government for research and ecological monitoring. The Star has since reported a faster schedule, with 80 per cent in the second year; we follow the government news agency.

Our own November 2025 story set out that schedule. It suggested visiting early in the transition, before the county set its own fees.

Then a petitioner, Joseph Kasau Masaa, went to court. In a ruling on 30 December 2025, Justice Bahati Mwamuye issued conservatory orders that froze the handover while the case is heard. The Standard quotes the ruling: “Management of national parks and wildlife is expressly vested in the National Government under Part I of the Fourth Schedule, and Amboseli National Park is public land held in trust under Article 62(3).” The judge found that keeping the existing management in place served the public interest.

The Revenue Share That Wasn’t Paid on 1 July

The county says its first 50 per cent revenue share was due on 1 July 2026 and that KWS did not pay it. Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku told the Senate Public Accounts Committee on 9 July what happened when county officials went to collect. “KWS said, ‘No, we have no instructions,'” he said, as reported by People Daily. The committee summoned Tourism Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano and KWS Director General Erustus Kanga, The Star reported. The paper put the county’s claimed loss at about KES 3 billion a year.

Local leaders gave KWS 14 days to hand over management of the park, the Daily Nation reported. Masaa went back to court, this time asking for the governor to be punished for contempt. On Sunday 12 July the High Court barred the county and Governor Lenku for a second time. Justice Gregory Mutai’s interim orders restrain them from “taking over, assuming control of, interfering with the operations or management of Amboseli National Park”. He set a hearing for 24 July. KBC reported that President William Ruto phoned the governor before the deadline and reaffirmed his commitment to completing the transfer. He also urged that the court process run its course. KWS withdrew its armed wardens, and residents held prayers near Kimana Gate.

We could find no published outcome of the 24 July hearing, or of the petition itself, by 2 October 2026. The last orders we could find leave KWS running the park.

The Amboseli Park Fees You Pay Today

Amboseli park fees come from the KWS tariff that took effect on 1 October 2025. Its legal basis is Legal Notice No. 160 of 2025 (Capital FM). Amboseli and Lake Nakuru are the two “premium parks” on the KWS conservation fee schedule, and they share one rate per adult and per child or student:

• East African citizens: KES 1,500 (child or student KES 750)
• Kenya residents: KES 2,025 (KES 1,050)
• Non-residents: USD 90 (USD 45)
• Citizens of other African countries: USD 50 (USD 25)

That rate is a daily fee, valid for no more than 24 hours. A car with fewer than six seats adds KES 600 a day. Kenyan citizens aged 70 and over, people with disabilities and children aged five and under pay nothing. KWS also sells tickets for combined trips. A Tsavo West–Amboseli package costs USD 150 for a non-resident adult, and a three-park package with Tsavo East costs USD 215. The Kenya Times reported the same citizen rates on 8 September 2026.

Here our November story needs correcting. It gave the non-resident fee as USD 60 and said a rise to USD 90 had been suspended. By the time we published, the USD 90 rate had been in force for over a month.

A 24-Hour Ticket While the Case Runs On

As of early October, the handover changes nothing about Amboseli park fees at the gate. The fee is the KWS tariff, and KWS collects it, unless a ruling changes that. Ask your lodge or operator whether the quote includes park fees at the October 2025 rates. A package priced on the old USD 60 figure leaves a gap of USD 30 per non-resident adult per day. Each ticket covers a single entry for up to 24 hours. Time your arrival so that a two-night stay inside the park doesn’t cost a third day. If you sleep outside and drive in each morning, every entry is a new fee.

Watch for a ruling on Masaa’s petition. If the transfer goes ahead, Kajiado County takes over the park’s tourism operations under the deed; none of the reports we read says whether fees would change. KWS answers fee queries on 0800 597 000. When the dates are fixed, our guide to things to do at Amboseli covers what to do with the day you have paid for.