Lake Nakuru National Park lies in the Central Kenya, 140km north-west of Nairobi. Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley soda lakes at an elevation of 1754 m above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya.
Nakuru means “Dust or Dusty Place” in the Maasai language. Lake Nakuru National Park, close to Nakuru town, was established in 1961. The lake’s abundance of algae attracts the vast quantity of flamingos that famously line the shore. The ecosystem comprises of the lake, surrounded by mainly wooded and bushy grasslands. The park supports a wide ecological diversity with Flamingos (Greater and Lesser) and other water birds being the major attractions of the area. The ecosystem provides for about 56 different species of mammals including the white rhino and buffaloes and a variety of terrestrial birds numbering nearly 450 species.
This place is a heaven on earth for wildlife lovers and gives the opportunity to see the these wild animals in their natural habitat. The rangers patrol regularly which means that there is almost no poaching and therefore excellent game viewing. There is also strict control over vehicle numbers around animal sightings which means a better, more authentic, experience when out on a game drive.
Lake Nakuru National Park has a tarmac road connection with Nairobi, a distance of 156 km north west of Nairobi on the main A104 road. On the way to Nakuru you will have a great view of the Rift Valley. From Nairobi, it is about a 30-minute drive to a scenic overlook at 7200 feet (2200 meters) above sea level and from here you can get a spectacular view of the volcanoes Suswa and Longonot. The park has very well established roads that make most parts of the park accessible by 2-wheel-drive vehicles. Some less-traveled parts and most viewpoint hills will require 4-wheel-drive. The park has three gates: the Main Gate and Lanet Gate that link the park with the Nairobi-Nakuru highway and the less-used Nderit Gate.
By air, it’s about a 25-minute flight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to the Naishi airstrip inside the park.
Some of the airlines with direct flight to Nairobi are:
A visa is required for entry into Kenya for most people but no visa is required for nationals of the following countries:
Barbados, Maldives, St. Lucia, Belize, Malta, Swaziland, Botswana, Mauritius, Seychelles, Brunei Darussalam, Namibia, The Gambia, Burundi, Nauru, Tanzania, Cyprus, Papua New Guinea, The Bahamas, Dominica, Rwanda, Tonga, Fiji Island,
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