Nairobi National Park - "The World's only wildlife capital..."
The 117 km2 Nairobi National Park is unique by being the only protected area in the world with a variety of animals and birds close to a capital city. As expected, the park is a principal attraction for visitors to Nairobi populary known as the green city in the sun .
The park also serves many residents and citizens living in the city and its environs. The Park has a diversity of environments with distinctive fauna and flora. Nairobi national park major vegetation is open grass plains with dotted acacia bush. The western side has a highland dry forest and a permanent river with a riverine forest in the south. In addition, there are large areas with broken bush country and deep, rocky valleys and gorges with scrub and long grass. Man-made dams have also added a further habitat, favourable to certain species of birds and other aquatic species. The dams serve as watering points for the herbivores especially during the dry season.
The park has a rich and diverse birdlife with 400 species recorded though some species are seasonal. The park hosts Northern hemisphere migrants pass through the park mainly in late March through April.
Nairobi National Park is a successful rhino sanctuary that is used to generate stocks for former rangeland whose rhino population have diminished and for setting new sanctuaries. Due to this success, guests are assured to see the elusive black rhino in its natural habitat.
To the south of the park is the Athi-Kapiti Plains and Kitengela Migration and dispersal area. These are vital areas for the survival of the herbivores as they disperse during the rainy season and wander back in the park in the dry season.
Major Attractions
• Annual wildebeest and zebra migration in July/August
• Black rhinoceros
• Diverse birdlife
• Large predators such as lion, leopard, hyena and cheetah live here.
• Aggregations of large herbivores- eland, buffalo, zebra and wildebeest
• Ivory Burning Site Monument
• Walking trails at hippo pools
• Nairobi Safari Walk and the animal Orphanage
• Spacious accommodating picnic sites
• Lone Tree
• Directors tree planting site
• The park has one nature trail at the Hippo Pool
Nairobi National Park is located only about 7 km from the city centre, the park is easily accessible on tarmac roads, mainly through Langata Road.There is an adequate administration and viewing road network with satisfactory signage.
Park Gates
The Park has several gates that one can gain access such as the main gate at KWS headquarters, East Gate, Cheetah Gate, Lang'ata Gate, and Maasai Gate.The Mbagathi and Banda Gate are service gates and therefore not used by tourists.
Facilities
There are no accommodation facilities in the park. But a wide range of well developed accommodation facilities are available in the city. Further, there is also the Masai Safari Lodge near the park.
Picnic Sites
• Impala Observation Tower;
• Ivory Burning Site;
• King Fisher Gorge;
• Leopard Cliffs;
• Mokoiyet;
• Hippo Pool;
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