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Quick Links about Kenya
MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE
Masai Mara is the most famous and most visited reserve in Kenya. Since it is protected as a reserve and not as a national park, Masai Mara is not managed by Kenya Wildlife Service but by the local authorities, namely District Councils. The protection of this area, among other factors, favoured re-population of the territory by the Maasai tribes, who by virtue of the reserve status were put in charge of the reserve's management through the District Councils.
The reserve offers breathtaking view, an extraordinary density of animals including the "Big Five" and many varieties of plains game. Gazetted in 1961, is located west of the Rift Valley and is a natural extension of the Serengeti plains of Tanzania. The Mara river traverses north to south heading for its westbound way unto lake Victoria, through the Tanzanian park. In the hills and plains, grasslands are scattered with acacia woods and bush. The riverbanks of the Mara and of the multiple tributary streams are bordered by dense riverine forests. Masai Mara's location and altitude, above 1,500 m, yield a climate which is milder and damper than in other regions.
Species. The list of mammals includes elephant, leopard, Black Rhino, buffalo, plains zebra, roan antelope in small numbers, white-bearded gnu, Oribi, warthog, Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, hartebeest and the big cats. The rivers are home to hippos and crocodiles. Maasai Mara has the largest population of lions. There are 450 birds species, including red winged schalow's turaco, white-tipped crest, ross turaco, orange buff pel's fishing owl, wary guinea fowl. The open plains birds include Jackson's bustard, black-bellied hartlaubs bustard. 53 species of birds of prey have been recorded. Secretary birds are common.
Activities. From July to October, Masai Mara is at its peak, with the seasonal visitors populating the vast grasslands for a very good experience of game drives.
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LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK
Lake Nakuru is a very strongly alkaline lake 62 kms in extent. Since its gazetting in 1968 as a national park, both authorities and conservation organisations have kept on winning the battle to private property and human settlings, further broadening the park limits in 1968 and 1974 to its current extension of 188 kms. The park is easily accessible, since Nakuru is the fourth city in the country and the headtown of the Rift Valley. The park covers the lake and a land strip around the northern, eastern and western shores, whereas southward the grounds extend farther to Makalia Falls, which define the south limit. The shores are surrounded by swamps, that during the driest seasons disappear to give rise to huge white salt crusts. The riverine forest opens up southward in a bush and acacia tree savannah.
Species. The park is a fantastic bird sanctuary as its shores are populated at times by more than one million flamingoes. There are 450 birds species recorded. The famous ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson defined it as "the greatest bird spectacle on earth". It is also home for 56 species of mammals, including carnivores such as lions and leopards, then buffaloes, warthog, waterbucks, Thompson's gazelle. In 1987 the park was declared a sanctuary for the protection of the endangered Rhinos, allowing the re-introduction of specimens of both species, black and white. Here the visitor can easily find two of the five rhino species surviving in the world. About 550 different plant species are recorded including the unique and biggest euphorbia forest in Africa.
Activities. Game drive are organized and view-points are Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of Africa. Visit Makalia waterfalls.
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AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK
Amboseli lies immediately North West of Mt. Kilimanjaro, on the border with Tanzania. Amboseli was established as a reserve in 1968 and gazetted as a National Park in 1974. The Park covers 392 kms and forms part of the much larger 3,000 Kms Amboseli ecosystem. Large concentrations of wildlife occur here in the dry season, making Amboseli a popular tourist destination. The National Park embodies 5 main wildlife habitats: open plains, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bush country, swamps and marshland. The Amboseli territory belongs to the land of the Maasai people. Despite the first impression of a dusty and arid land, actually Amboseli is overflowing with water all the year round, but under the ground. The snows of Kilimanjaro melt and flow downhill, soaking the porous subsoil layers of volcanic rocks. Waters converge into various underground streams, that rise in two clear water springs in the center of the park.
Species. Many species of mammals are recorded in Amboseli, like buffaloes, lions, cheetahs, gazelles, wilderbeest, hyenas, jackals, warthogs, Masai giraffes, zebras and baboons. In the swamps of Enkongo Narok and Olokenya there are large herd of elephants.
Activities. Amboseli is famous for its big game and its great scenic beauty, the landscape dominated by Mt. Kilimanjaro. The park has five gates, Kelunyiet, lremito, Ilmeshanan, Kitirua and Airstrip. At the western part rises the Observation Hill, the only height in the park, a smooth hill to be climbed on foot that displays a magnificent view of the whole park and beyond. Southward, the layers of volcanic rocks expelled by Kilimanjaro some hundreds of years back rise to the surface, giving the landscape a lunar aspect.
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ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK
Created in 1950, Aberdare National Park is located in the Central Highlands. The landscape is made by the moorland, peaks and forest of the Kinangop Plateau in the South and the Salient rain forest in the East.
Species. The most common animals are the elephants and buffaloes, but you can find also black rhinos, antelopes, black servals and black leopard.
Activities. Game drives and visit the viewing platform at the Chania Falls and Karura Falls.
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MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK
Mt. Kenya is an imposing extinct volcano dominating the landscape of the Kenyan Central Highlands, East of the Rift. Mt. Kenya lies about 140 km North, North-East of Nairobi with its Northern flanks across the Equator. The mountain has two main snow-covered peaks, Batian (5199m) and Nelion (5188m). The mountains slopes are cloaked in forest, bamboo, scrub and moorland giving way on the high central peaks to rock, ice and snow. Mt. Kenya is an important water catchment area, supplying the Tana and Northern Ewaso Ngiro systems. The park, which was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1997 and is also a Biosphere Reserve, covers 715 kms and includes the Peaks consisting of all the ground above 3200m with two small salients extending lower down to 2450m along the Sirimon and Naro Moru tracks. Surrounding the park is Mount Kenya National Reserve with an area of approximately 2.095 kms.
Species. The park includes a variety of habitats ranging from higher forest, bamboo, alpine moorlands, glaciers, tarns and glacial morains. Mammals include elephant, buffalo, rhino and waterbuck. Mount Kenya is home to some fascinating high-altitude alpine vegetation including giant groundsels and lobelias.
In the lower-altitude forest zone trekkers may come across some rather large African wildlife such as elephants and buffalo. Lions, leopard, rock hyrax, various antelope species occur in the park.
Activities. Mountain climbing and trekking and game viewing. There are at least seven routes up the mountain. The easiest is the Naro Moru (four days), then the Sirimon and Chogoria, and the Summit Circuit path. Point Lenana (4.895m), the third peak, is easily accessible by all trekkers. The full trekking can last one week up to 10 days. The best period for climbing is from mid January to February and from late August to September, when the season is dry.
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SAMBURU, BUFFALO SPRINGS AND SHABA NATIONAL RESERVES
Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba are the most remote and inaccessible among the most popular reserves, located in the Northern Kenya along the banks of the Ewaso Ngiro river. Shaba, the less visited of the three, is also the largest, with a total extension of 239 km². Samburu and Buffalo Springs are similar in surface, 165 km² the first and 128 km² the second. The area has been traditionally inhabited by the Samburu people, a nomad paranilotic tribe closely related to the Maasai. The dusty plains are broken by smooth hills, outstanding the Koitogorr uplift in Samburu (1,245 m) and, lying far beyond, the flat head of the reddish Ol Olokwe mountain. The extreme heat, in spite of the altitude above 1,000 m, and the landscape desolation, are ingredients of the less hospitable Africa. Beyond Samburu and Buffalo Springs, the river heads on licking Shaba's north border. This place takes its name from a volcanic cone that rises upon the plain.
Species. Samburu is famous for hosting some rare species which cannot be found elsewhere in Kenya. Among them are long necked gerenuk, Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and Beisa Oryx. Leopard is a frequent passer-by. Also you find elephants, crocodiles, gazelles.
Activities. The bulk of wildlife gathers around the scarce wet areas, mainly the forested banks of the Ewaso Nyiro, which brings the Aberdare waters, and the crystal clear Buffalo Springs, at the eastern side of this reserve, which are formed by the arise of underground streams coming from Mount Kenya.
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