Kenya in the East African Rift Valley

The capital and largest city of Kenya is Nairobi. Its name is derived from the Maasai pharse Enkare Nairobi translating to “place of cool waters”. This is in reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city.

Nairobi National Park is the first national park of Kenya. It is located seven kilometers from the skyscrapers of the city center. This park is a rhino sanctuary providing a home for over 50 of these endangered animals.

Other wildlife making their home in the park are lions, gazelles, buffaloes, warthogs, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, and ostriches. In the wetlands are over 400 species of birds.

Nairobi National Park is also a famous ivory burning site. To boost the conservation image of the country on the world stage, President Moi burned 12 tons of elephant tusks and rhino horns here in 1989. A monument marks the spot.

For visitors a popular attraction is the Nairobi Safari Walk. There are walking trails that take you around the area which is called Hippo Pools.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is found at the main gate of the park. This is an orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program. The center takes care of young abandoned elephants and rhinos hoping to be able to release them back into the wild. You can watch these animals play in mud and take drinks from giant baby bottles.

The Giraffe Center is located on the edge of Nairobi National Park. It is home to the endangered Rothschild's giraffes. This is a non-profit center lying on the grounds of the guesthouse known as Giraffe Manor. Its mission is to provide conservation education for children.

Karura Forest Reserve is a lovely green space and is one of the largest urban forests in the world. Here you can hike to a multi-tiered waterfalls or enjoy a picnic in the gardens.

By Lily Lake you can relax and see monkeys climbing trees. Another popular activity is bike riding. Besides monkey there are also duiker (small antelope), different species of birds, and butterflies. There is a open-sided river cafe.

The Karen Blixen Museum is one of the top attractions in Nairobi. The museum is located at the foot of the Ngong Hills. It is the former home of author Karen Blixen know by the pen name Isak Dinesen, who wrote “Out of Africa”. While living in the house from 1917 to 1931, she ran a coffee plantation. Visitors can tour the farmhouse, a kitchen is a separate building, a coffee-drying plant in the woodland, and an agricultural college on the grounds.

The National Museum displays diverse cultural and natural history exhibits. There are over 900 stuffed birds and mammals, fossils from Lake Turkana, and ethnic displays from Kenyan tribal groups. You can also see exhibits of local art.

The Geology Gallery has an impressive collection of rocks and minerals. Visitors can learn about tectonic plates and the life cycle of a volcano. The Hominid Vault has a collection of prehistorc bones and fossils.

At the Snake Park you can see live specimenst of the most common reptiles in Kenya.

Bomas of Kenya, just 10 km from Nairobi is a living museum dedicated to the colorful tribes of Kenya. You can learn about their lifestyle, art, music, crafts, and culture. There is a traditional village with homesteads or bomas. In the afternoons a team performs traditional dances and songs in the theater with audience participation.

Ngong Hills the “ngong” means “knuckles” in Maasai. These are lovely pointed green hills that looks like the back of a fist facing the sky. They overlook the Great Rift Valley where many white settles had their farms in early colonial days. There are walking trails through the hills. The wildlife that make their home here include buffalo, gazelles, giraffes, bushbuck, and troupes of baboons.

Exploring Kenya

The African country of Kenya gets tourists who enjoy its many national parks, game reserves, and wildlife. Along the Indian Ocean are a lot of beaches.

Maasai Mara National Park is one of the most popular safari parks in the world. It borders with the Serengeti National Park located in Tanzania. Here you'll find savannah plains with zebra herds, giraffes, and cape buffalo.

This park is famous for the Great Migration, when thousands of wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson's gazelle journey to and from the Serengeti, from July through October.

Hippos and crocodiles enjoy the Mara River. The park is also home to lions, cheetahs, and leopard particularly in the dry months from December through February.

Lamu Island located on the eastern edge of Kenya is surrounded by sandbanks, mangrove swamps, and the waters of the Indian Ocean.

On the island you'll find one of the most historically rich town in the country, Lamu Old Town. It is a historic port.

Amboseli National Park lies in the shadoe of Mount Kilimanjaro. The park has plains, savannahs, and riparian wetlands. Here you'll find some of the largest elephant herds in Kenya. Other wildlife are cheetahs, wildebeests, giraffes, and zebras among others. There are also over 600 species of birds. Local Maasai people live in the area around the park.

Hell's Gate National Park is located between the capital Nairobi and the backcountry twon of Nakuru in southern Kenya. Within the park you can see high escarpments and deep valleys with names like Fischer's Tower and Embarta.

Wildlife making their home here are wildebeests, vultures, African buffalo, gazelles, and lions.

Tsavo East National Park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in East Africa. There are swaying savannah grasses and red-hued rocks.

The Athi River flows along the eastern edge.

Here you'll also find the great stones of Yatta, one of the largest lava channels in the world.

Wildlife includes white-tailed mongooses, cape buffalo, ground pangolins, and cheetahs.

Mombasa the second largest city and biggest port in Kenya has a European-style Old Town. It is a coastal city with white sand beaches and palm tree groves here.

The city is located on Mombasa Island and is connected to the mainland by a causeway, bridges, and ferries. Popular attractions here are dolphin watching and deep-sea fishing.

History lovers will enjoy the 16th century Fort Jesus and the Old Town.

Malinda is located north of Mombasa on the Kenyan coast. It is a popular beach town.

Tourists enjoy the white sands of Watamu Beach. You can go diving among the coral reefs of the Malini and Watamu Marine National Parks.

The Vasco De Gama Cross is one of the oldest standing monuments in Africa.

Another popular attraction is the Falconry of Kenya, a rehabilitation center for sick and injured birds.

Marafa Depression is found about 30 km northeast of Malindi.

The Samburu National Reserve is shadowed by Mount Kenya and surrounded by highlands. There are flat-topped acacia trees and riparian oasis of palms.

Wildlife here includes lions, gazelles, Tanzanian cheetahs, waterbucks, crocodiles, and olive baboons.

Lake Nakuru has its own national park. The lake rises above the Great Rift Valley between acacia groves and meadows. There are many birds especially flamingos.

At Baboon Cliff you can lookout over the park. While taking hikes you can see Eastern black rhinos, baboons, and migrating birds.