Meru National Park is one of Kenya's most rewarding wilderness destinations, offering a relatively secluded safari experience across 870 km² of diverse landscapes. The park was gazetted in 1966 and forms part of the larger Meru Conservation Area, a vast protected landscape incorporating Meru National Park, Kora National Park and surrounding reserves. 
Unlike some of Kenya's more heavily visited parks, Meru offers a feeling of genuine wilderness. Its landscape is shaped by numerous permanent streams flowing from the Nyambene Hills, creating a fascinating mixture of riverine forest, open grassland, woodland, bushland and wetlands.
Meru is particularly important for the conservation of black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, elephants, Grevy's zebra and other threatened wildlife. The park also offers excellent birdwatching, with KWS highlighting it as a birdwatcher's paradise. 
The park has a powerful conservation and cultural story through George and Joy Adamson and Elsa the lioness, whose story became internationally famous through Born Free. Visitors can visit Elsa's Grave and other sites associated with the Adamsons' conservation legacy. 
Meru is also developing as a destination for astro-tourism and guided night wildlife experiences, adding an unusual dimension to the traditional Kenyan safari.