Lake Nakuru
AFRICA · SIESTA SIDE
A fenced Rift Valley sanctuary and Kenya's most reliable place to see both black and white rhino, plus tree-climbing lions.
The plan
Rhino tracking
A fully fenced rhino sanctuary holding both black and white rhino. The most dependable rhino sighting in the country.
📍 Map & photos · €€
Baboon Cliff viewpoint
A picnic site on the western escarpment looking down over the lake, the acacia flats and the whole park.
📍 Map & photos · €
Rothschild's giraffe
Translocated here for safety, the endangered subspecies is common through the woodland along the lake's southern shore.
📍 Map & photos · €€
Makalia Falls
A seasonal waterfall in the park's far south, worth the drive after rain and usually completely deserted.
📍 Map & photos · €
Manage flamingo hopes
Rising water since around 2010 diluted the lake and cut its algae. The million-strong flocks have largely moved on.
Getting there
Drive from Nairobi
About three hours northwest on the A104, down the Rift Valley escarpment. The easiest big park in Kenya to reach by road.
SGR to Suswa, then road
The standard-gauge railway runs from Nairobi to Suswa near Naivasha; the rest is by road. Check current schedules.
Rift Valley loop
Nakuru pairs naturally with Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate and Lake Bogoria on a circuit out of Nairobi.
When to go
Best time to go
June-March dry months, for firm tracks and game concentrated near the lake.
Cheapest months
April-May long rains, when tracks turn to mud and lodges discount hard.
Priciest & busiest
July-September and Christmas, in line with the wider safari season.
If you've got one day
Morning
Enter at Main Gate around 6.30am and work the lakeshore loop for rhino while the air is still cool.
Late morning
Climb to Baboon Cliff or the Out of Africa viewpoint for the overview of lake and escarpment.
Lunch
Picnic at a designated site. You cannot leave the vehicle anywhere else inside the park.
Afternoon
Drive south towards Makalia Falls, scanning the fever trees for giraffe and resting lions.
Evening
Out before the 6.30pm gate closure, then dinner in Nakuru town or at a lodge on the park boundary.
Nearby & day trips
Lake Bogoria
Ninety minutes north: hot springs, geysers and, unlike Nakuru, still-reliable flamingo flocks on a hypersaline lake.
Hell's Gate National Park
An hour south at Naivasha, and one of very few Kenyan parks you can legally cycle or walk through, gorge included.
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