Lake Nakuru & The Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley cleaves Kenya from north to south like a geological scar, its floor studded with a chain of alkaline and freshwater lakes that together form one of the most important bird habitats on Earth. Lake Nakuru, set within its own national park just 160 kilometres from Nairobi, was once famous for hosting up to two million flamingos—a pink carpet so vast it was visible from space.

While flamingo numbers now fluctuate between Nakuru, Bogoria, and other Rift Valley lakes, the park has evolved into one of Kenya's most reliable locations for rhinoceros. Both black and white rhino have been successfully reintroduced, and the park's relatively compact size (188 square kilometres) means sightings are almost guaranteed. Lions, leopards, Rothschild's giraffe, and waterbuck complete an impressive mammal roster.

Beyond Nakuru, the Rift Valley offers the geothermal wonderland of Lake Bogoria with its hot springs and geysers, the freshwater paradise of Lake Naivasha with its hippos and fish eagles, and the dramatic Hell's Gate National Park where you can cycle and hike among wildlife.