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Lake Nakuru National Park
A bird watcher’s paradise, the park is home to over 450 bird species
Background
Located in the Great Rift Valley, the Lake Nakuru National Park is inhabited by over 50 mammal species including hippo, black and white rhino, Rothschild giraffe, buffalo and eland. Known as a bird watcher’s paradise, the park is home to over 450 bird species including the Lesser Flamingo.
Lake Nakuru offers easy wildlife viewing of most big safari animals with the exception of elephants. Black and white rhino were re-introduced in the 1990s and have bred to healthy populations. White rhino are usually easy to see on the lakeshore. Rothschild giraffe, buffalo and hippo are numerous as well. Lucky visitors might see lions, which occasionally climb trees. Leopard are present, but not often encountered.
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.
Destination Highlights
Gallery
Experience the Lake Nakuru National Park
For a small park, Lake Nakuru really is breathtaking, with the Rift Valley escarpment, dotted with euphorbia trees, rising up from the lakeshore. Heavy mist sometimes shrouds the lake and yellow fever trees, which seem to glow in the early morning. The view from the Out of Africa Lookout is as close as you can get to the famous plane journey scene from the film ‘Out of Africa’. The main activity in Lake Nakuru is the guided game drive, which allows you to explore the park for wildlife watching and birding. In the park’s south you can see moderately impressive Makalia Falls, where waters cascade through a cleft in the rock surrounded by acacia forest. If you’re staying at The Cliff, a luxury tented camp perched on the edge of the escarpment, you can also enjoy a boat excursion on the lake.
Lake Nakuru National Park offers good wildlife viewing throughout the year, but the best months are from June to February. The rains might interfere with game drives and road conditions can be poor in the wettest months (April and May). However, the reorientation of some tracks to avoid the lake’s rising water levels has made trail conditions more consistent.
Lake Nakuru National Park is a great birding destination with more than 500 species recorded. The soda lake is a birding hotspot and supports a lot of birdlife, including large flocks of pelicans. Unfortunately, flamingos are no longer the drawcard here as unfavorable conditions have driven many of them to other Rift Valley lakes. Nakuru is also one of the best places in Kenya to see the striking, long-tailed widowbird. There is a good variety of raptors including Verreaux’s and long-crested eagle.
Where to Find Lake Nakuru National Park
What to see and do
Wildlife
Lake Nakuru National Park boasts over 50 mammal species. Wildlife is bountiful, with swarming predators at large to reflect the abundance of prey in the park. The animals include lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, giraffes, black and white rhinos, buffalos, giant pythons, waterbuck, reedbuck, bushbuck, baboons, and vervet monkeys.
Birdlife
Lake Nakuru is a great birding destination with more than 500 species recorded. The soda lake is a birding hotspot and supports a lot of birdlife, including large flocks of pelicans. Unfortunately, flamingos are no longer the drawcard here as unfavorable conditions have driven many of them to other Rift Valley lakes. Nakuru is also one of the best places in Kenya to see the striking, long-tailed widowbird. There is a good variety of raptors including Verreaux’s and long-crested eagle.
