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Nairobi
National Park, Kenya
Adventure Africa Holidays is a specialist tour operator with
its office headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya but operating
throughout East Africa. We offer Safaris to Nairobi National Park, Kenya
Nairobi National Park Tour, Kenya Nairobi Park, Nairobi Safaris, Tour Nairobi Park Kenya, Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
Tour.
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Nairobi
National Park, Kenya
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Nairobi
National Park Background Information:
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.
The park also serves many residents and citizens
living in the city The park has a diversity of
environments with characteristic fauna and flora. Open
grass plains with scattered acacia bush are
predominant. The western side has a highland dry
forest and a permanent river with a riverine forest in
the south. In addition, there are stretches of 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 biota (life forms). The dams
also attract water dependent herbivores during the dry
season.
The park has a rich/diverse birdlife with 400 species
recorded. However all species are not always present
and some are seasonal. Northern migrants pass through
the park primarily during late March through April.
Nairobi National Park is one of the most successful of
Kenya's rhino sanctuaries that is already generating a
stock for reintroduction in the species former range
and other upcoming sanctuaries. Due to this success,
it is one of the few parks where a visitor can be
certain of seeing a 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 herbivores dispersal during the rains
and concentrate in the park in the dry season.
Nairobi National Park Major
Attractions:
-Annual wildebeest and zebra migration in July/August
-Black rhinoceros
-Diverse birdlife
-Large predators- lion, leopard, hyena and cheetah.
-Aggregations of large herbivores- eland, buffalo,
zebra and wildebeest
-Ivory Burning Site Monument
-Walking trails at hippo pools
-Nairobi Safari Walk & the Orphanage.
-Spacious accommodating picnic sites
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How To Get To
Nairobi National Park:
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Roads:
Located only about 7 km from the city centre, the park
is easily accessible on tarmac roads, mainly through
Langata Road.
Nairobi National ParkRoads:
There is an adequate administration and viewing road
network with satisfactory signage.
Nairobi National Park Gates:
The park has seven gates, the main gate at KWS
headquarters, East Gate, Cheetah Gate, Lang'ata Gate,
Maasai Gate: Mbagathi and Banda Gate are service gates
and therefore not used by tourists.
Nairobi National Park
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.
Nairobi National Park Picnic
Sites:
-Impala Observation Tower;
-Ivory Burning Site;
-King Fisher Gorge;
-Leopard Cliffs;
-Mokoiyet;
-Hippo Pool;
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Other Attractions at Nairobi National Park:
- -Lone Tree
-Directors tree planting site
-Nature Trails:
-The park has one nature trail at the Hippo Pool
Nairobi National Park Common
Vegetation:
The vegetation is primarily dry savanna, open grass
plains with scattered acacia bushes. The park also has
a permanent river with a riverine forest.
The western upland areas has an upland dry forest with
stands of Olea africana and Croton dichogamus/Brachylaena
hutchinsii and calodendrum. The lower slopes are a
grassland composed of such species as: Themeda,
Cyprus, Digitaria, and Cynodon with scattered
yellow-barked acacia, Acacia xanthophloea. In addition
there are stretches of broken bush country and deep
rocky valleys and gorges with scrub and long grass.
There is gallery forest in the valleys, predominantly
Acacia spp., and Euphobia candelabrum. Other tree
species include Apodytes dimidiata, Canthium
schimperanum, Elaeodendron buchananii, Newtonia sp.,
Ficus eriocarpa, Aspilia mossambicensis, and Rhus
natalensis.
Several plants growing on the rocky hillsides are
unique to the Nairobi area including Euphobia
brevitorta, Drimia calcarata, Murdannia clarkeana and
the crassula sp.
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Source: Kenya Wildlife Service.
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