Daytrip to Lake Nakuru

Daytrip to Lake Nakuru: Highlights

Lake Nakuru National Park is one of Kenya’s two Premium Parks, and is a birdlover’s paradise. It surrounds Lake Nakuru, located in the Central Rift Conservation Area in the Southern Rift Valley region of Kenya. Originally protected as a bird sanctuary, this park hosts over 400 bird species, including 5 globally threatened species, and is an important stop on the African-Eurasian Migratory Flyway. This park was also the first national Rhino sanctuary and hosts one of the world’s highest concentrations of the Black Rhinoceros.

Pelicans

at the Lake Nakuru National Park

White Rhino

at the Lake Nakuru National Park

Flamingoes

at the Lake Nakuru National Park

The Experience

The scenery of Lake Nakuru NP is breathtaking. The Rift Valley escarpment, dotted with euphorbia trees, rises up from the lakeshore. Heavy mist usually shrouds the lake and surrounding yellow fever trees in the early morning. Most big safari animals are present in Lake Nakuru National Park with the exception of elephants. The park is known for its populations of black and white rhino. White rhino is particularly conspicuous, and different groups can be encountered throughout the day. Hippo, waterbuck, Burchell's zebra and Thomson's gazelle are common on the floodplains.

The park is an important stronghold for the rare Rothschild's giraffe. It was introduced to the park in the 1980s and has now become locally common. Aside from the widespread vervet monkey and olive baboon, the beautiful black-and-white colobus monkey can sometimes be found in the acacia forest. A highlight, if you’re lucky enough, are the tree-climbing lions – Lake Nakuru National Park is the best place in Kenya to see them.