Places to Explore

• Amboseli National Reserve

  Amboseli National Reserve, immediately northwest of Mount Kilimanjaro and 240 km (150 mi) southeast of Nairobi on the Tanzanian border, is certainly one of the most picturesque places in the whole of Africa... (more)

• Laikipia Plateau

  Stretching all the way to Ethiopia and the Sudan, Laikipia Plateau, gateway to Kenya's little-visited northern territory, is not in itself a national park or reserve, but it has become one of Kenya's most... (more)

• Lake Naivasha

  One of the Rift Valley's few freshwater lakes, Lake Naivasha is a popular spot for day trips and weekends away from Nairobi as it's only about an hour and half by car. The pleasant forested surroundings... (more)

• Lake Nakuru

  If it's birds and flamingos you're after, then Lake Nakuru, 230 km (143 mi) northwest of Nairobi, hits the spot. You will find millions—yes, millions—of these engaging birds to gaze upon. From... (more)

• Lake Turkana

  The tip of Lake Turkana, in Kenya's northwest, runs into the Ethiopian highlands, but the rest of Kenya's biggest lake stretches for 250 km (155 mi) south. Sometimes called the Jade Lake because of its... (more)

• Lake Victoria

  Kenya shares Africa's biggest freshwater lake with its neighbors, Uganda and Tanzania. Tanzania has the lion's share: 49%; Uganda has 45%; Kenya only 6%. The lake is so huge (68,000 square km) that it... (more)

• Lamu

  Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2001, Lamu Old Town is the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa. Some 260 km (162 mi) north of Mombasa—and just two degrees... (more)

• Malindi

  Malindi, the country's second-largest coastal town, is 120 km (75 mi) north of Mombasa and has been an important port for hundreds of years. In ancient Chinese documents,"Ma Lin De" is referred to as a... (more)

• Masai Mara

  The legendary Masai Mara Game Reserve ranks right up there with Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and South Africa's Kruger National Park in terms of the world's finest wildlife sanctuaries.... Established... (more)

• Meru National Park

  Situated 370 km (230 mi) northeast of Nairobi and west of Mount Kenya, this little-visited park (1,810 square km) offers some of Kenya's wildest country, but was taken off the mainstream safari circuit... (more)

• Mombasa

  You may well find yourself in Mombasa for a few hours or an overnight stop. The city is a strange mixture of culture, religion, and history—it's the second oldest trade center with Arabia and the... (more)

• Nairobi

  The starting point for safaris since the days of Teddy Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway, Nairobi is still the first stop for many travelers headed to the wildlife parks of East Africa. Just over a century... (more)

• Nairobi National Park

  The most striking thing about Nairobi National Park, Kenya's oldest national park, is not a mountain or a lake, but the very fact that it exists at all. This sliver of unspoiled Africa survives on the... (more)

• Southern Beaches

  Kenya's coast south of Mombasa contains some of the country's most beautiful beaches. The highway from Mombasa runs all the way to the Tanzania border, providing easy access to a string of resorts.... (more)

• Tsavo East

  More inaccessible than its sister park, Tsavo East—11,747 square km (4,535 square mi)—is also one of Kenya's least visited parks. It's a fairly harsh landscape of scrubland dotted with huge... (more)

• Tsavo West

  Tsavo West covers 7,065 square km (2,728 square mi), which is a little less than a third of the total area comprising all of Kenya's national parks. It lies to the west of the Chyulu Hills—said to... (more)