Voi is the largest town in Taita-Taveta County in southeastern Kenya, situated at the western edge of the Taru Desert on the historic Uganda Railway line that runs inland from the port city of Mombasa. The town lies south and west of Tsavo East National Park, with the Sagala Hills rising to the south, and serves today as a practical gateway for safari-goers heading into the broader Tsavo ecosystem. It sits roughly 100 miles by rail from Mombasa and approximately 32 miles from the Tsavo River bridge — the notorious site of the 1898 man-eating lion attacks that made the name "Tsavo" infamous worldwide. Gates passed through Voi in Season 15 of Expedition Unknown, disembarking from the train here before driving on to investigate the bridge and the gripping, still-debated story of the Tsavo Man-Eaters. The town's position along the old railway corridor means it carries genuine historical weight: the same iron tracks that brought Gates to Voi once carried thousands of laborers — many of them brought from India — into lion country during the late Victorian push to connect the East African coast to the interior.
Uganda Railway construction reaches the Tsavo region; thousands of workers camp near Voi and surrounding areas as the line pushes inland from Mombasa
A pair of man-eating lions begin attacking railway workers at the Tsavo Bridge, approximately 32 miles from Voi, in one of the most documented wildlife attacks in colonial history
Voi established as a formal railway stop and administrative town along the completed Uganda Railway, growing into the largest settlement in what is now Taita-Taveta County
Gates investigates the Tsavo Man-Eaters story in Expedition Unknown S15E02, riding the train from Mombasa to Voi before driving to the historic bridge site
Julian Kerbis Peterhans, a curator at Chicago's renowned Field Museum and one of the leading researchers on the Tsavo Man-Eaters, joined Gates on camera at the historic Tsavo Bridge. Peterhans has spent years examining the two lions shot by Colonel J.H. Patterson in 1898 — the same lions whose mounted skins are now displayed at the Field Museum — and his scientific analysis of their teeth and bones has helped reshape the understanding of why these particular animals turned to hunting humans. His research, along with that of colleagues, has pointed to dental disease and injury as likely contributing factors, rather than any innate "rogue" behavior.
The mainstream historical record holds that the attacks took place over roughly nine months in 1898, killing an estimated number of workers that remains genuinely contested — Patterson himself claimed 135 victims, a figure that has been both supported and challenged by later researchers. The workers were primarily brought from British India as skilled stonemasons and laborers, alongside local African workers, to complete the Uganda Railway — a massive colonial infrastructure project connecting Mombasa to the interior of East Africa. The thorn-thicket enclosures (called "bomas") that workers built around their camps proved insufficient against the lions' persistence.
What remains debated within the mainstream is the precise death toll and the degree to which Patterson's 1907 memoir, "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo," can be taken at face value. Kerbis Peterhans and other researchers have used isotopic analysis of the lions' bones to estimate the number of humans actually consumed, arriving at figures considerably lower than Patterson's dramatic account — though still representing an extraordinary series of attacks. The episode takes Patterson's book as its narrative starting point while genuinely interrogating how much of it holds up to scrutiny.
Voi itself functions in the episode less as a destination than as a threshold — the last railhead before the wild. Gates' brief stop there underscores the historical geography of the story: the same railway that made the Tsavo attacks possible still delivers travelers to the edge of that landscape, more than a century later.
Voi is the largest town in Taita-Taveta County and sits at the western edge of the Taru Desert, one of the drier stretches of southeastern Kenya.
The Uganda Railway, which passes through Voi, was sometimes called the 'Lunatic Express' by critics in the British Parliament who considered it an absurdly expensive colonial venture — yet it fundamentally opened up the East African interior.
The name 'Tsavo' is believed to derive from a word meaning 'slaughter' in local usage, a name that predates the 1898 lion attacks and reportedly refers to a much older battle between the Maasai and Kamba peoples.
The two Tsavo Man-Eaters shot by Colonel Patterson in 1898 eventually made their way to Chicago's Field Museum, where their mounted skins remain on display today — giving the lions a strange afterlife as museum specimens nearly 130 years later.
Voi is generally accessible by road and rail from Mombasa, roughly 100 miles to the east, and serves as a practical base for visits to Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. The town has accommodation options ranging from budget guesthouses to mid-range lodges, though travelers planning to reach the Tsavo Bridge area or venture into the parks should arrange transport in advance. Visitors should check current local advisories regarding wildlife activity and road conditions before heading into the surrounding bush.
Mombasa, Kenya — approximately 100 miles to the east along the A109 highway and Uganda Railway corridor.
The dry seasons — roughly June through October and January through February — are generally considered the best time to visit the Tsavo region, as wildlife is more visible near water sources and roads are more passable. The long rains (March to May) can make dirt tracks difficult to navigate.
Tsavo River
The Tsavo River and its historic bridge are the direct destination Gates traveled to from Voi — the epicenter of the 1898 man-eating lion attacks investigated in S15E02.
Tsavo, Kenya
Tsavo, Kenya is the broader investigation area for the Man-Eaters episode, of which Voi serves as the nearest town and rail access point.
South Africa (Kruger National Park region)
The Kruger National Park region shares the same broader East/Southern African wildlife and big-cat conservation context that frames the Tsavo Man-Eaters story.
Historical data sourced from Wikipedia