Nairobi National Park

Kenya safari package to Nairobi national park

Nairobi National Park is located 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Nairobi in south-central Kenya. It has an area of 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) and stands between 5,000-6,000 feet above sea level. It is made up of thick woodlands at the city’s outskirts, rolling plains and valleys, and a wooded confluence of multiple rivers. It has a dry transitional savanna vegetation. The most important trees include acacias and other thorny kinds, muhuhu, Cape chestnut, and Kenya olive. The park is home to numerous mammals, including lions, gazelles, black rhinoceroses, giraffes, several species of antelope, and zebras, as well as numerous reptiles and hundreds of bird species. It has only been feasible to keep animals in the area at its current levels by building migration paths into adjacent Ngong Reserve.

The history of the Park
Nairobi National Park, established as a national park in 1946, is one of the rare national parks situated so close to a capital city. The Nairobi Animal Orphanage, which acts as a rehabilitation center for a variety of wild animals, was founded in the park in 1963. The Ivory Burning Monument, created in 1989 to commemorate then-President Daniel Arap Moi’s burning of 12 tons of ivory, is a major attraction in the park.

Main Attractions in Nairobi national park during our Kenya safari package

Wildlife

The park’s wildlife population is big and diverse, with 100 kinds of mammals, including 39 lions and 90 rhinos, as well as 40 distinct amphibians and reptiles. The park only features four of the big five (buffaloes, lions, leopards, and rhinos), no elephants. Nairobi National Park offers a beautiful wildebeest and zebra migration, as well as huge predators such as lions, leopards, hyenas, and cheetahs. Giraffe, hippopotamus, blue wildebeest, plain zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, Grant’s gazelle, common eland, impala, hartebeest, waterbuck, common warthog, olive baboon, black-backed jackal, common ostrich, and a variety of other animals can be found in the park. Nairobi National Park is the only location in the world that simultaneously serves as a wildlife sanctuary and within capital city.

Black Rhinos

Nairobi National Park boasts the highest population of black rhinos, as well as an active population of southern white rhinos and Eastern Browse (Black) Rhinos. These brilliant and loving creatures have been on the planet for 60 million years. Nairobi National Park is another excellent location for rhinos in Kenya. The park is home to 50 extremely endangered black rhinoceros, the world’s densest population. Nairobi National Park is the most convenient and almost certain place to see eastern black rhinos.

The ivory burning site monument

It is situated near the Nagolomon reservoir on the northern edge of Nairobi National Park. On July 18, 1989, former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi set fire to a 6m high pile of 2,000 elephant tusks weighing 12 tons and worth three million dollars in ivory – the entire accumulate from 4 years of poacher confiscations in an extremely publicized event demonstrating his commitment to saving the African Elephants from mass slaughtering and extinction caused by the profitable ivory trade

Bird species

The park is home to over 500 permanent and migratory bird species. The area’s dams have created an artificial habitat for birds and aquatic creatures. Some of the birds which may be seen in the national park include: Yellow-throated Sand grouse, Martial Eagle, African Crowned Eagle, Lappet-faced Vulture, Violet Wood-hoopoe, Nairobi Pipit, Croaking Cisticola, Desert Cisticola, Speke’s Weaver, Secretary bird, Northern Pied Babbler, Pangani Longclaw, African Quail-finch, Zebra Waxbill, Kori Bustard, Saddle-billed Stork, African Citril among others

Vegetation

Nairobi National Park contains huge stretches of open grass plains with dispersed acacia bush, a severely dry woodland on the western part of the park, and riverine forest with a constant river to the south. The ecosystem is of the dry transitional open beautiful savanna type, which allows spotting and observation of numerous animal species. Acacias and other thorny kinds, muhuhu, Cape chestnut, and Kenya olives are the most important trees that serve as the park’s principal habitats

Nairobi Animal Orphanage center

It is one of Kenya’s most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries, and one of the few places where tourists may be sure to observe a black rhinoceros in its native habitat. The David Sheldrick Trust operates a refuge in the park that cares for orphaned elephant and rhinoceros calves before releasing them into safe sanctuaries. The Nairobi Animal Orphanage is a rehabilitation and treatment facility for other various wild creatures such as cheetahs, lions, monkeys, and others who have been injured, for example, by poachers

Walking trails at hippo pools

Walking trails in Nairobi National Park begin at a picnic area and follow the Athi River’s banks. The trail is guarded by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and constitutes one of the few trekking places in Nairobi National Park

Things or tourist activities in Nairobi National park on Kenya safari package

Game drives

Since the park is endowed with a diverse range of species, game drives are one of the most popular activities in Nairobi National Park. It allows you to watch your favorite animals in their natural habitat. This is a 2-3 hour safari package (early morning or late afternoon) that takes you around in a four-wheel drive vehicle. Cape buffalo, baboon, eastern black rhino, gazelle, Grant’s zebra, cheetah, Coke’s hartebeest, hippopotamus, African leopard, lion, eland, impala, Masai giraffe, ostrich, vultures, and waterbuck are among the creatures that can be spotted in the park while on the game drive

Birding

Nairobi National Park is a birder’s dream, with over 500 bird species documented in the area, including one of the eight varieties of the Kenya Mountains Endemic Bird Area, 27 species of the 94 Somali-Masai biome, and 25 species of the 67 African Highlands biome. Most birders can always count on seeing their favorite birds in the wild. This is a full-day activity that takes place alongside the park’s lakes and rivers, park’s forest and savannah plains.

Camping

The park has a peaceful atmosphere and is extremely gorgeous. It is a great choice to escape where the air is clean. While camping, you can observe some wildlife as well as the city lights. Some campgrounds supply tents; however, campers must bring their own mattresses and/or sleeping bags. Tent reservations can be made at the park’s East gate or the main gate along Langata Road

Visiting the Nairobi Animal Orphanage

The sanctuary is adjacent to the main entrance of the park. It first opened its doors in 1963. Daphne Sheldrick founded it after the death of her husband, David Sheldrick, the anti-poaching warden of Tsavo National Park. The sanctuary receives orphaned and ailing animals from all throughout Kenya. You will be able to watch how these orphaned animals are cared after and fed while you are here.
Other activities one can participate in while at Nairobi national park include Team building, Picnicking, Events in the wild, Nature walk and Stargazing.

How to Get to Nairobi National Park

Nairobi National Park is located in Kenya’s capital city, seven kilometers south of the city center, and is accessible via a number of entry gates including the Maasai gate, Mbagathi gate, Banda gate, Lasngata gate, and KWS headquarters. Both road and air transportation are used to reach Nairobi National Park.
By road: It’s around 7 kilometers south of the city center and about 10 kilometers from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
By air: International tourists fly to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, while tourists on a combination safari can take a domestic chartered flight to Wilson Airport and then drive to the park.

Best time to Visit Nairobi national park

The best time to visit Nairobi National Park is during the dry season, which runs from July through October, as well as January and February. July receives the least amount of rain of any month of the year. August and July are the driest months in Nairobi.
Wildlife viewing is best during the dry season (when animals may be observed around water sources), which runs from June to September, but you can visit Nairobi National Park at any time. Long rains (March to May) and short rains (October to November) make wildlife viewing more challenging. During these months, rains may limit game drives, and grass growth is common

Nairobi park entry fees

Park entry fees table

Accommodation at Nairobi National park during the Kenya safari package