Kenya Highlights
Nairobi National Park
The capital city's most visited tourist attraction is the Nairobi National Park, in the south-east of the city - 113 sq km of wilderness populated exclusively by free-ranging wild animals.
Amboseli National Park
This is everyone's picture of Kenya: open plains, woodlands and swamps, with an abundance of wildlife, all set against the spectacular backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro. The park is best viewed around dawn and sundown. Expect to see elephants, lions, buffalo, hippo, plus some of the 420 bird species.
Tsavo West National Park
Much of Tsavo West is of recent volcanic origin and is therefore very hilly; the rocky Ngulia Hills dominate the area. The Ngulias stage a special nocturnal show towards the end of the year, when thousands of birds appear out of the nightly mountain mists. The famous Mzima Springs are found in this volcanic zone. Hippos and crocodiles can be watched from an underwater observation chamber here. The variety and sheer numbers of birds are incredible. Lake Jipe, at the southwest tip of the park, is one of the most important wetlands in Kenya, providing a sanctuary for a number of water and marsh birds. The few rhino left in Tsavo are protected in a fenced sanctuary at the foot of the Ngulia Hills. Other wildlife in the park includes lions, cheetahs, leopards, buffalos, spotted hyenas, Maasai giraffes, impalas and zebras.
Tsavo East National Park
The outstanding physical feature in Tsavo East is the Yatta Plateau; between 5 and 10 km wide and about 305 metres high, it originated as a lava flow; natural erosion over the millennia has exposed the flow to form the striking plateau seen today. Another spectacular sight in the park is the Lugard's Falls, 40 km north of Voi. Grant's gazelles, zebra, impala, kongoni, giraffe and lion have replaced elephants as the most common animals in Tsavo East. Large herds of buffalo can also be found.
The Maasai Mara
The Mara Game Reserve covers an area of some 1,800 sq km. The southern boundary lies on the border with Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. The Mara's wide horizons are unforgettable and the game is clearly visible. It is also the scene of the greatest animal show on earth, known as The Migration, when millions of animals cross an area of around 2,000 miles in a non-stop year-long spectacle.
The lush grasslands of the Mara provide a good variety of habitats for wildlife. There are buffalo, rhino, as well Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, topi and impala. Predators include lions (the largest population in Kenya), cheetahs and leopards, spotted hyenas and silver- or black-backed jackals. There are over 450 recorded species of birds in this reserve, including the rare Verreaux's eagle owl.
Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves
North of Mount Kenya is a vast area of desert and semi-desert that stretches all the way to Sudan and Ethiopia. It is a magnificent and largely unexplored wilderness. The two reserves, Samburu to the north and Buffalo Springs to the south, are usually treated as one unit by both tour companies and local wildlife. Physically dramatic, with a great table mountain called Ololokwe in the background, the 100-sq km Samburu National Reserve is baked red-brown for most of the year. A variety of animals can be found, including elephant, buffalo, oryx and waterbuck. Crocodiles, lion, cheetah and leopard are also fairly easy to see. Birds are abundant, including the Somalian ostrich, which has blue legs that are particularly conspicuous during the breeding season.
Meru National Park
This park achieved world recognition with Joy Adamson's Born Free, the story of Elsa the lioness that was rehabilitated to the wild. Despite being one of the major national parks in Kenya, and a very beautiful one, Meru is off the mainstream circuit for the majority of visitors. But it is well worth a visit. The park covers an area of 800 sq km, lying to the west of Mount Kenya in the semi-arid area of the country. Large numbers of buffalo live around the swamps and the Tana River, as well as hippopotamus and crocodile. Meru supports a range of species more usually found in northern areas, including the Grevy's zebra, the beisa oryx and the reticulated giraffe.
The Lakes of the Great Rift Valley
The largest split in the earth's crust runs through Kenya, making a mighty valley characterised by volcanoes and lakes that are full (and sometimes empty) of undrinkable water. In places, the walls of the Rift rise little more than 30 metres above the valley floor. Elsewhere, there are steep, often sheer cliffs to above 1,200 metres, but nowhere is the Rift more sharply defined than where it cuts through the highlands of Kenya. In addition to the towering walls, the whole length of the valley in Kenya is studded with volcanoes.
Also scattered along the length of the Kenya Rift is a chain of seven lakes. The most alkaline is Magadi, in the extreme south of the country, but easily accessible from Nairobi. Around the periphery is a series of hot springs, highly charged with salts and bubbling out of the ground at temperatures of about 45ºC. They flow into the huge evaporation pan, where the sun and searing winds leave nothing but a thick white deposit of sludge. At the southern end is an area of open water which attracts many water birds including flamingos.
Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru National Park was created in 1961 as a bird sanctuary; the lake's waters are so rich that flamingos and other birds assemble here in their millions. Over 400 varieties of birds can be seen, including many migrant visitors from the northern hemisphere. There is a rhino sanctuary, and other mammals include lions, leopards and hyenas.
Mount Kenya National Park
Set up principally as a recreation area for walking treks in the moorland-heath zones and for climbing Mount Kenya, the park's highest point is 5,199 metres above sea-level. Among the most distinctive birds to be seen are crowned eagles, mountain buzzards and sunbirds. The forests below the moorlands contain elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and Sykes monkeys.
Mombasa Island
Kenya's main seaside town and the major centre for rest and relaxation, Mombasa town is mainly spread over a small coral island, flanked by two creeks. The waterfront of the Old Town, dating from the early 20th century, consists of a maze of narrow streets and passages, with overhanging balconies and carved doorways. Adding to the general impression of charm and character are the small coastal dhows from Lamu and Somalia at anchor, trading in fruit, dried fish and similar commodities.
The Lamu Archipelago
Lamu and neighbouring islands off the far north of Kenya's coastline have become a fashionable destination for discerning tourists. The port of Lamu is the only substantial survivor of an urban civilisation that has existed for at least 1,000 years on this part of the coast. It retains an almost entirely unspoiled 19th-century appearance and lifestyle and is one of Kenya's premier visitor attractions. The approach to the town is still exclusively by sea. Many buildings facing the sea have Arab/Swahili-style pillars, castellations or verandas, and behind them is a maze of narrow streets no wider than the span of a donkey cart (the only haulage vehicle in Lamu).
The beach tourism sector of Lamu is at Shela village on the east side of the island, where the Peponi Hotel marks the beginning of a 13-km beach of uninterrupted, empty sand flanked by high dunes. On the west side of the island, the nearest settlement to the mainland is Matondoni, whose people are friendly and fond of music and dance festivals. These celebrations or ziaras give special eminence to Lamu in the Muslim world.
Malindi-Watamu Marine Reserve
The main area of interest in the Malindi reserve is North Reef, which lies roughly parallel to the shore. The southern part comprises the coral gardens, which slope off on the seaward side into Stork Passage, some 15 metres deep. On the shore side, the coral is flanked by the slightly shallower Barracuda Channel. Many colourful fish, moray eels, soldier fish, barbel eels, octopus and turtles are frequently seen.
Best Beaches
Although Malindi Bay suffers from the seasonal dumping of brown silt, caused by up-country flooding, the beaches south of Vasco da Gama Point are protected by coral reefs and are largely unaffected by this. The bay, on the other hand, is not protected by reefs, and so produces remarkably big waves for stand-up surfing, especially when the kusi monsoon comes in May and June.
Near Chale Island are two time-lapsed fishing villages, Kinondo and Gazi, and, just to the south, Msambweni, which has a fine, empty beach and no restaurants or shops save for a few dukas. Further south is Funzi Island, home of a fishing resort.
The best beaches south of Mombasa are found between the townships of Tiwi and Diani. Tiwi has many quiet beaches and self-catering bungalows, while Diani is a ribbon of flawless tropical beach. Development on the Diani Strip has been fairly intense.