National Parks

Kenya has 40 national parks. In the smaller parks you will often find one or more rare animal species or vegetation. For most parks you will have to pay an entrance fee. This must be seen as a contribution in the maintenance costs of the park. It is possible, of course, to drive through the park in one of the buses. It is also possible to drive through the parks in your own car or in a rental car.

Masai Mara is an offshoot of the famous Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is situated 200 kilometers west of Nairobi and probably the best known park of Kenya. Every year over a million gnus thunder through here from Tanzania looking for grasslands. They are accompanied by herds of zebra and gazelle.

Amboseli National park is situated at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. This is the highest mountain in Africa. It is one of the most frequented parks of Kenya. The park has always been the residence of the Masai. You still find them in large numbers here. They have adapted themselves completely to tourism and will let themselves be photographed or filmed for, sometimes, large amounts of money. Most of the game can be seen at the beginning or the end of the day. Elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, giraffes and buffaloes can be seen then.

Lake Nakuru is situated 156 kilometers northwest of Nairobi. 10 kilometers from the village of Nakuru. Lake Nakuru is a canyon which runs from Lebanon to Mozambique over a distance of 9600 kilometers. Another option is to visit the lake as a daytrip from Nairobi.

Lake Baringo lies 280 kilometers northwest of Nairobi and 125 kilometers north of Nakuru. Due to the huge drought of the last couple of years the water level has dropped enormously. But, nevertheless, there is still enough water for the many crocodiles, hippos and water birds. At the lake you will also find a snake farm where venom from snakes is drained. This venom is used as a serum for an antidote against snake bites in the whole of Eastern Africa.

Mount Kenya National Park lies 210 kilometers north of Nairobi. The park is mainly used as a base camp for mountain climbers. Although Mount Kenya lies on the equator the peaks are covered in eternal snow.