Nairobi Travel Guide

Nairobi Travel Guide : Nairobi city is not only the capital of Kenya but also the gateway into Kenya, the city is a gateway for most of safari visitors on a Kenya safari and most them, spend a night or two in the city while on their way or from their wildlife experience. Nairobi is a bursting city with great lodges and unique boutique hotels offering accommodations to travelers, the city also bursts with life from informal Maasai Markets lining the streets of city selling handmade art and crafts to travelers.

Nairobi City is a great safari destination to visit with numerous attractions and sites to visit during your stay which makes it worth visiting, like other cities in the world, there are several areas to avoid in Nairobi city. Nairobi also has notoriously chaotic traffic that comes to a grind halt from 07h00 to 0hoo and 16h30 to 18h30, in these periods some drivers are appalling especially the local minibus or matatus and bus drivers.

Note: If you intend to take a walk in Nairobi, it is advised you do it in company of a safari guide.

Nairobi city is usually the arrival and departure point for travelers and safari visitors and there are a range of excellent lodges and hotels to choose from, as well as lively nighlife and interesting shopping such as the Masai Markets. There are also several attractions worth visiting such as

Nairobi Travel Guide
Nairobi City
  • Nairobi national park – The World’s only wildlife park to be situated in a city situated about 7 kilometers from the city center and a host to dense concentration of black rhinos

The Carnivores

  • restaurant one of the most famous and popular restaurants in the city, the restaurant serves a banquet of game meats (everything from warthog and wildebeest to zebra and crocodile), hot – off – the grill onto your plate from oversized metal skewers, Nairobi Travel Guide.

Nairobi City has a lot more to see and do ranging from wildlife to culture, sport, adventure, shopping and entertainment. Some of the spots to visiting Nairobi City include the following

Nairobi National park

Nairobi national park is a unique Kenya wildlife destination “The only Wildlife Capital” situated in a short drive out of Nairobi’s central business district, the park is a home to large herds of plains game including zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, cape buffaloes, rhinos and predators such as lions and cheetahs.

Nairobi national park is also a great site for Kenya birding safari and is recorded among the Important Birding Areas in Kenya hosting over 400 bird species including Maasai Ostrich, African Darter, African Finfoot, Dwarf Bittern, Goliath Heron, Saddle-billed Stork, Spur-winged Goose, African Crowned Eagle, Secretarybird, African Fish Eagle, Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture, Black -chested Snake-Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Augur Buzzard, Tawny Eagle, Bateleur, Shelly’s Francolin, Grey crowned Crane, Kori Bustard,, White-bellied Bustard, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Bronze- winged Courser and African Skimmer among others.

Nairobi national park acts as an educational center to make the local Kenya people and school children aware of wildlife conservation and its challenges, with in the park there is the Nairobi Animal Orphanage which is also situated within the park.

Amazing Kenya safari activities you can do in Nairobi national park include game viewing, picnic and camping, Nairobi Safari walk, bird watching among others.

Mamba Village

Mamba Village is a pleasant site to visiting in Nairobi, this crocodile center is located in North Langata in the Upmarket Nyali. Mamba  Village is a home to a huge population of crocodiles and during the visit tourists get an opportunity to interact directly with the crocodiles and also handle the crocodiles babies in their hands.

Mamba Village is the largest crocodile farm in Africa, the center also a home to Ostriches.

Kenyatta International Conference Center

Kenyatta International Conference Center is a landmark site in Nairobi city situated in the center of the city, the center is one of the tallest structures in Nairobi  offering great views out of the sprawling, congested Nairobi city and on a clear day you are able to see  out over Nairobi national park.

Nairobi Travel Guide
Kenyatta International Conference Center

Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage

Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage is a rescue center and a home to newly born elephants whole parents have been killed either by natural death or by poachers, this orphanage is the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world,Nairobi Travel Guide.

Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage is also a home to rhinos, during the visit, visitors get an opportunity to interact with elephant and rhino babies.

Nairobi National Museum

Nairobi National Museum is the flagship for the National museums in Kenya located on Museum Hill, the museum showcases Kenya’s rich Heritage for both education and leisure.

Nairobi national Museum is always to visitors interested in learn all there is to know about culture and history of Kenya, there is also a live snake park for visitors interested in reptiles.

National Railway Museum

National Railway Museum showcases details about the history of Kenya’s railroads and the Kenya – Uganda railway featuring some of the engines and rolling stock from the country’s colonial period.

Karen Blixen Museum

Karen Blixen Museum showcases the life of Karen Blixen a famous author known for her book “out of Africa”, the museum is in a building which was an actual home for Karen Blixen and her husband.

Karen Blixen Museum is situated on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Giraffe Centre

Giraffe Centre is a home for the endangered Rothschild Giraffe with conservation/ education programmers for Kenyans including children. During the visit on this center, you are allowed to feed the giraffes by hand.

Other attractions in Nairobi City

  • Bomas of Kenya

Bomas of Kenya are a cultural site giving safari travelers an insight into Kenya’s culture, the center exhibits the traditional Kenyan homes, artefacts and dances  and hosts shows where you get entertained by traditional music and songs.

  • Uhuru Gardens

Uhuru Gardens is a famous  site in Nairobi city built in remembrance of Kenya’s struggle for independence granted to Kenya in 1963, in the Gardens  there is a triumphal column of 24 meters supporting a pair of clasped hands and the dove of peace, high over a statue of freedom fighters rising the flag, Nairobi Travel Guide.

Uhuru gardens are set in beautiful landscaped gardens.

Nairobi Travel Guide
Uhuru Gardens
  • Westlands

Westlands are bustling nightlife district of Nairobi  with many restaurants and bars, some of the famous bars include Treehouse Club  patronized largely by ex-pats. Though some of the clubs become over crowded, there is generally good security.

While on a safari in Kenya, make sure you have a night stay in the city to enjoy the thrilling life.

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