Mount Kenya National Park
In the center of Kenya, just 16 km south of the equator, there is a beautiful mountain with a snow-capped peak. Now it seems so unlikely that when a German missionary reported this in 1833, he was ridiculed. Its existence was not recognized for another sixteen years, and its peak, located at an altitude of 5199 m, was first conquered only after more than half a century.
Mount Kenya is considered by the local Kikuyu people to be the home of the supreme god Ngai, the holder of light, and it is known as Kirinyaga, the Mountain of Light. When the peak of Mount Kenya appears between the clouds, the sun illuminates its snowy peaks and jagged peaks, and it really gives the mountain a kind of divine glow. The houses of the Kikuyu, who live on the slopes, are always directed towards this sacred peak.
This mountain is also interesting due to its diversity of flora with a change in altitude. The lower slopes are covered with dry forest followed by a mountain forest full of cedars at an altitude of about 2000 m. Then a dense belt of bamboo and low trees begins, in which many animals hide. Between 3000m and 3500m the landscape is dotted with gigantic heather trees, with open moorland grazing rare acclimatized zebras and elands.
Mount Kenya Park was a forest reserve before being granted the status of a national park. At the moment, the national park is located on the territory of the forest reserve, which surrounds the park from all sides. In April 1978, the territory was given the status of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In 1997, the national park and forest reserve were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Kenyan government created the national park for four main reasons: the importance of tourism to Mount Kenya for the local and national economy, the protection of the scenic area, the conservation of biodiversity within the park, and the conservation of water sources for nearby areas.
A small part of the park’s borders are equipped with electric fences in order to protect agricultural land from elephants living in the park.
ANIMALS AND BIRDS
Elephants share forest and bamboo belt living with colobus and white-throated marmosets, anubis baboons and large forest pigs.
The rare and elusive bongo and suni antelope find solitude here, as do black rhinoceros and buffalo.
SEASONS
Daytime temperatures are comfortable all year round and vary little, but during the winter months of the dry season, nights can get very cold.
Rainy season: from April to June – hot and humid (long rains), from November to December – warm and humid (short rains).
Dry season: January to March is hot and dry, July to October is warm and dry with chilly nights.
FEATURES OF MOUNTAINS OF KENYA
- Hiking, climbing and mountain tourism
- stunning scenery
- unique flora
- Watching sunrises and sunsets at the top of Mount Kenya
DATA
The park was founded in 1949.
It covers an area of 715 km², most of it is located at an altitude of more than 3000 m.
Lake Nakuru National Park
The East African Rift Valley is a fault in the earth’s crust that stretches over 5600 km, with numerous lakes, both large and small. Lakes in Kenya tend to be small, shallow soda lakes with crystallized salt that turns the shores white and alkaline water that is great for algae and tiny crustaceans to live in.
One of these lakes is Lake Nakuru, around which a national park was formed in 1968. It was created to protect the large flocks of small flamingos that turn the color of the lake bright pink. The park now also protects other endangered species of forest and grassland animals, in particular the black and white rhinoceros. Safari here is very comfortable, as the roads go through the bush and along the lake.
Lake Nakuru National Park is located in Central Kenya, 140 km northwest of Nairobi, near the city of Nakuru.
ANIMALS AND BIRDS
The park is home to about 56 different species of mammals, as well as about 450 species of birds. The basis of the park’s food chain is blue-green algae, which feed on a huge number of flamingos. By the way, the characteristic pink color of the plumage of flamingos was acquired precisely because of the spirulina algae, which they feed on the lake. During the peak season, over 1.5 million flamingos and half a million pelicans gather on the lake, and the surface of the shallow lake is sometimes difficult to see due to the mass of pink. The number of flamingos on the lake during the year varies depending on the water in the lake and food.
In addition, nowhere else will you see so many rare black and white rhinos roaming freely against such an incredible backdrop. Colobus and numerous antelopes, buffalo and rare Ugandan giraffes (Rothschild giraffes) also live in the national park. During the daytime you can often see leopards. The park also has large pythons that live in dense forests and can be seen crossing the road or hanging from trees.
FEATURES OF LAKE NAKURU
- Thousands of flamingos
- Black and white rhinos
- Ugandan giraffes (Rothschild giraffes)
- colobus
SEASONS
Temperatures are comfortable all year round and vary little, with an average of 24°C.
Rainy season: from April to June – hot and humid (long rains), from November to December – warm and humid (short rains).
Dry season: from January to March – hot and dry, from July to October – warm and dry.
DATA
The park covers an area of 188 km².
This is a malaria zone.
Lake Nakuru National Park along with Amboseli are the most expensive national parks in Kenya (Premium Parks).
Entrance fee to the park (2013):
| Category | Price |
| Citizens of East African states |
1000 KSh |
| Students and children of East African states |
200 KSh |
| Citizens of other states |
$80 |
| Students and children of other countries |
$40 |
| Vehicle less than 6 seats (per 1 day) |
300 KSh |
