Situated along the Nairobi River in beautiful Kenya, the capital of Nairobi is East Africa's most cosmopolitan city. It serves as an excellent starting point for African safari trips around Kenya. Nairobi is Africa’s 4th largest city and is a vibrant and exciting place to be. There are some fascinating attractions: its cafe culture, unbridled nightlife, the National Museum, the Karen Blixen Museum and most notably, just 20 minutes from the city centre, wild lions and buffalo roam in the world’s only urban game reserve. Make sure you pay a visit to the elephant orphanage operated by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for a once in a lifetime experience.
Located in the beautiful Kenya Rift Valley basin, Naivasha is a compact market town northwest of Nairobi, best known as a stopping point for spellbinding Lake Naivasha. Aspiring wildlife photographers and nature lovers will marvel at Lake Naivasha and its abundance of wondrous wildlife. Here visitors can spot wallowing hippo pods, clouds of vibrant birdlife, zebra and various other game. The nearby Lake Oloiden and Oserian Wildlife Sanctuary are great spots for those passionate about wild wonders. Shopping in the bustling town ensures unique souvenirs for mementoes as well as restaurants offering delicious local dishes with every taste in mind. Accommodations ranging from lodges to bed and breakfasts provide great conveniences for travellers looking to explore the area.
Nakuru is a fascinating city on the shores of western Kenya’s Lake Nakuru. The capital of Nakuru County located in the Great Rift Valley, about ten kilometres from the massive Menengai Crater. A hiking trail leads up to the rim of this ancient caldera, offering bird’s eye views over the lake and surrounds, and then plunges 400 metres down to the floor below, where visitors can walk among ancient forests. Lake Nakuru National Park, surrounding Nakuru, is home to exceptional birdlife, as well as over 50 varieties of mammals including lion, leopard, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, rhino, antelope and various primates. History and culture enthusiasts should make sure to visit the incredible Hyrax Hill prehistoric site.
Resting in the Kenyan Rift Valley, Lake Baringo National Park features a large freshwater lake. Considered Kenya’s most popular bird watching site, it is home to at least 470 of the country’s 1200 known avian species. Pelican, cormorants, fish eagles, and flamingos are among the most common birds sighted on and around the lake, which also provides a habitat for crocodiles and hippos. Boat trips are the best way to explore this aquatic park and its three islands. Don’t miss a visit to Baringo Community Museum and Reptile Park, which displays several species of snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and tortoises.
Sandwiched between the Cherangani and the Tugen Hills, the Kerio Valley National Reserve mirrors the Lake Kamnarok National Reserve over the crocodile-abundant Kerio River. The impressive Kerio Valley is 1300 metres deep, which results in a diversity of environments and vegetation, ranging from the forests on the upper slopes to the typically dry northern Kenyan thorn bush in the valley. The reserve is home to elephants, buffalo and a wide variety of bird species. Visitors can look forward to a wide selection of wonderful activities including: excellent game viewing, camping under the vast Kenyan sky, and hiking along numerous nature trails through the impressive dramatic scenery.
Resting on the shores of the magnificent Lake Victoria, the laidback port city of Kisumu is the third largest city in Kenya. This city features wide streets, fine colonial architecture and boasts great viewpoints over the lake at Hippo point and Dunga Hill Camp. It is home to the Kisumu Impala Sanctuary, which shelters herds of free roaming impalas and zebras as well as an animal orphanage caring for lions, cheetahs, leopards, baboons, duikers, hyena and buffaloes. Visitors to the city can look forward to an array of wonderful attractions including: the Kisumu Museum, which displays local cultural artifacts and the nearby Ruma National Park, which protects the only indigenous population of rare roan antelopes within Kenya and features sheer cliffs, diverse wildlife and many species of bird.
One of Kenya’s most iconic natural wonders, the Masai Mara National Reserve stretches across more than 1500 square kilometres in the country’s southwest. The park shelters a remarkable array of wildlife, including elephant, lion, leopard, and buffalo that roam its savannahs, while crocodile and hippopotamus inhabit the Mara River. Birdwatchers will delight in the presence of more than 450 resident species. Yet the true spectacle is the Great Migration, named one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. Each July to September, roughly 1.7 million wildebeest trek from the parched plains of Tanzania’s Serengeti to the greener grasslands of the Masai Mara, followed by zebra, antelope, and predators such as lion, hyena, and cheetah. The sight, sound, and raw energy of these vast herds are a once-in-a-lifetime experience for any traveller.
