Lake Nakuru National Park

It is located in the central part of Kenya on the floor of the great rift valley in the northwestern, only 159km from Nairobi CBD and 15 minutes from Nakuru Town. The national park is characterized by forests and grasslands that act as habitats for different wildlife. I have visited the place twice and got the best experience. Inside the park, you can enjoy Some activities, like bird watching, game viewing, camping, picnicking on the stunning rocky viewpoints in the park, and many more. The park has three main gates. Once you enter the park, you will enjoy a wide variety of wildlife species, especially the Flamingos, which make the lake look pink. This national park was home to a large flock of flamingos, but the birds have migrated to a better place with food and water due to climate change. As a result, the lake looks gorgeous, with the birds flying everywhere.

Lake Nakuru National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site celebrating flamingos and abundant wildlife. Nakuru is an alkaline lake, which is what further draws birds and wildlife to its shores and the lake is most renowned for the tens of thousands of flamingos that can reach over a million at their peak. An area around 188 km has been fenced to create a protected area for both black and white rhinoceroses as well as giraffes. The park features about 70 white rhinos and another 25 eastern black rhinos and it is one of the largest collections of rhinos throughout Kenya. During actually 1 hour we have seen 2 black rhinos, 12 white rhinos and lions. This reserve is a shadow of its former self having been flooded rising the water levels to such an extent that the thousands of Flamingos that made such a spectacular show have now moved on to inhabit other lakes. I have visited many times before and marveled at the prolific and spectacular bird life but now the original driving tracks have been submerged and now there are very few places where you can get close to the lakeside. We visited Lake Nakuru National Park for a day trip using our own car. There are 3 gates you can theoretically use to get into/out of the park (Main Gate on the NW side, Lanet Gate on the NE, and Nderit Gate in the SE). Nowhere does anyone tell you that, once in the park you can’t get to Main Gate from either East or West directions. We initially drove from Lanet gate in the NE anticlockwise and, after about 5km, found that the road was blocked off at about the 12 o’clock position of the lake (it looked like it had been purposefully blocked by trees for quite some time to prevent people using the road). So, we then headed clockwise around the lake with the intent that we would exit from Main Gate in the NW after our visit. The journey inside the park itself was good. We found a couple of KWS wardens there keeping an eye on things. We then drove to the waterfall in the very south of the park – it was ok but I wouldn’t make the effort to head there again. It’s small and muddy and not particularly pretty. After that, we continued to the viewpoints on the cliff on the west of the lake. We found a couple of pretty viewpoints and were glad we had a 4×4 car, it would have been tricky in places if not. After that, we continued the route clockwise heading towards Main Gate to exit. We got 8km away from the gate to be met with a sign saying ‘no through route to Main Gate’ (the first sign mentioning anything about it all day!). From that position, it then took us about an hour driving non-stop (and quite quickly) to get back around the lake (anti-clockwise) to Lanet Gate. All in all, a bit disappointing. Could have been so much better with a little admin and effort on KWS’s part. Given tourism has been so low of late, you would think they would be more helpful to encourage return visits.

I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors since I was young. And one of my favorite places to visit is Nakuru Town, due to the large number of outdoor activities available in this town. One of my favorite places is Nakuru National Park. It’s conveniently close to the town and also happens to have a large variety of animal species including the endangered southern white rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffes, leopards and lions. Lake Nakuru is also within this park and you get a chance to view the beautiful flamingos from the beaches of the lake. Park entry fees are KSh800 for adult citizens and residents, and KSh200 for children. Make sure you carry your ID card or proof of residency since non-residents pay more. You are allowed to drive yourself around the park and that’s my favourite way to explore it. You get a chance to spend as much time viewing whatever animals you like, unlike when you use a tour bus. I have a lot of interesting memories of this park. Including being slapped and robbed by a monkey when I was a young boy. I guess the naughty fella wanted my eggs more than I did. To being chased down by a rhino while we were driving along the trail. That experience was frankly scary, but I’ve been addicted to the adrenaline rush ever since. If you want to build fond memories that will last you a life-time Lake Nakuru National Park will offer you plenty of that. I highly recommend it.

Lake Nakuru National Park, located in Nakuru County 159km from Nairobi CBD and 15 minutes from Nakuru Town, is known for its pink flamingos which swarm half of the lake at times. A cab from Nakuru town costs 450/= I was there with my family over the festive season. It has the first gate which brought us to the parking lot and reception and the next which leads to the park. At the parking lot, I got to feed some monkeys and I could see many of the other tourists doing the same. There was even an entire church bus which had brought its members to the park. We paid 1800/= to take the 7 seater land cruiser, a driver and a tour guide. I’m glad I had carried my camera because there were so much wildlife to see. We spotted buffaloes then a few meters away there was a herd of gazelles. Those gazelles look so elegant. We also got to see a chase between a lioness and an antelope. I have never felt so excited in my life. We passed drove through the shore of the lake where we got to see a handful of flamingos. The guide told us that most of the flamingos had migrated. We were then take to this spot called the baboon cliff. From there you can see much of the pack since it is in a raised location. There were a lot of baboons there and we got to feed them. A tip, when you visit this place, carry a lot of bananas because there is a lot of feeding to do. I can’t wait to visit again.

If you happen to visit Nakuru, Lake Nakuru National Park should be on you list of destinations to pop by. Termed as a “A beautiful wildlife haven”, it is located on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland. It is famous for hosting quite a number of beautiful pink flamingos. The park is located 2km from Nakuru CBD and an uber from the CBD would cost 450/=. We got there at around 2 pm. Just before you go for the drive, there is a parking lot and the best part about this parking lot is the baboons. There are baboons everywhere. Some even came to our car and took some bananas from us. We took the 7 seater Land Rover which costs 1800/=. This package includes the car, a 2 hour tour around the park and a tour guide. Driving through the park, I got to appreciate the wonder that is wildlife. I was giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, gazelles, rhinos and some lions. Luckily we were on time to see the flamingos. The make almost a quarter of the lake turn pink. Its an amazing site to behold. Afterwards we were taken to the baboon cliff which is a spot on top of a crater within the park where there are hundreds of baboons and the most beautiful view of the entire park and lake. The whole experience was magical.