Shimba Hills consists 250 square km of scenic landscape comprising hills and valleys extending beyond the Reserve boundaries, coastal rainforest and Sheldrick’ Sfalls. Shimba Hills were gazetted as a National Forest in 1903, grassland areas were incorporated in 1924 and several subsequent extensionstook place to bring the reserve to its present size. In 1968 most most of the reserve was double gazetted as the Shimba Hills National Reserve. Two smaller areas to the west adjoining the reserve and almost entirely forested remain as Forest Reserves: Mkongani North and Mkongani West Forest Reserve. A fenced elephant corridor connects the Shimba Hills with Mwaluganje Forest to the North.

The Shimba Hills are a dissected plateau that ascends sleepy from the coastal plains, 30 kms south west of Mombasa and just south of Kwale town. The surrounding escarpement rises from around 120 metres to 300 metres across the bulk of the plateau and as high as 450 metres at Marare and Pengo hills.

The reserve is rich in wildlife, such as elephant, leopard, buffalo, waterbuck, hyena, warthog and bush pig, Maasai giraffe, baboon plus black-faced vervet monkey and colobus monkey. 4