Top 10 Best things to do and see in Nairobi, Kenya– "City in the sun"
By: Patricia

By: Aby @SuperbAfrica

A visit to the Nairobi National Museum

Photo By teachandlearn

Nairobi National Museum is located at the Museum Hill, approximately 10 minutes drive from the Nairobi city centre. It is the flagship museum of National Museums of Kenya, housing some of the most celebrated collections of history, culture and art from Kenya and East Africa. The museum aims to interpret heritage of Kenya to stimulate appreciation and learning.

This museum is open daily (including public holidays) from 0830hrs -17300hrs.

A Visit to the Nairobi Snake Park

Photo By Rudy Neeser

The Nairobi Snake Park was started in January, 1961 to meet a popular attraction and to provide a research facility on reptiles, breeding of snakes. Live snakes were exhibited on experimental basis at the entrance of the Museum in 1958 which later became a popular attraction.

Currently the Snake Park exhibits major groups: Invertebrates like Giant Snails, Baboon Spider ,Mombasa Train Millipede, Crayfish, Freshwater Prawns and Vertebrates like Fishes both Marine and Fresh water, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals.

The visit can take 02 – 03 hours.

A visit to the Bomas of Kenya

Photo By ollipitkanen

Bomas of Kenya was started by the Government of Kenya in 1971 as wholly owned subsidiary of the Kenya Tourist Development Cooperation (KTDC) the Company was established to Preserve, Maintain and Promote the Rich Diverse cultural values of various ethnic groups of Kenya and to act as a tourist attraction centre thus Bomas of Kenya is expected to preserve the authenticity of the Kenya’s Cultural values and to portray them in the pure form. At the Bomas of Kenya currently we have fourty seven (47) different traditional dances collected from different tribes of Kenya.

The visit can take 02 – 03 hours.

4. A meal at the Carnivore Restaurant

No visit to Nairobi is a visit without a meal at the world Famous carnivore restaurant. A walking of both traditional and Game meat is the centrepiece of delightful meal. Ostrich, Crocodile and others join the menu as the waiters expertly slice your selections onto a hot cast iron plate. Served with soup, salads, Coffee and dessert, the meat keeps coming untill you surrender!! Herbivores welcome with vegetarian options. Advance reservation is suggested.

5. A visit to the Karen Blixen Museum

PhotoBy spanaut

This museum was originally the home of Karen Blixen, who came to Kenya from Denmark in the early part of this century; the present museum site is at the heart of the larger coffee plantation run by Blixen between 1914 and 1931. The house and surrounding land was donated by the Danish government to Kenya at independence; the house was restored by the Danish government and was used during the filming of Out of Africa, which immortalized Karen Blixen's book by the same name. The Museum was opened to the public in 1986.Much of the original furniture is on display in the house, and combined with the beautifully landscaped gardens and encompassing view of the Ngong Hills, the Museum has continued to be very popular destination for international and local visitors.

The visit can take 02 – 03 hours.

6. A visit to the Giraffe Centre

Photo By GnZrG

The Giraffe Manor, built in 1932 by Sir David Duncan, is situated on 120 acres of land just a few miles from the centre of Nairobi. Since 1974, the Giraffe Center has been the home to the endangered Rothschild Giraffe whose numbers have increased from the original 5.Guests can feed and photograph the giraffe and the Warthogs at the Center, and also wander through the adjoining primeval forest to view the bushbuck, Dik Dik, and more than 180 species of birds

The visit can take 02 – 03 hours.

7. A tour of Nairobi National Park

Photo By urbangarden

This tour takes you to the Nairobi National Park where it is possible to find a variety of wildlife which covers an area of 44 square miles, and is followed by a visit to the Animal Orphanage where sick and stray orphaned animals are taken care of before being returned to the wild.

Photo By skasuga

Nairobi National Park is unique by being the only protected area in the world with a variety of animals and birds close to a major city. The park is located only 7 km from Nairobi city centre. The park has a diverse birdlife with over 400 species recorded and four of the "Big Five" can also be seen here. However some species are seasonal. It is one of the successful rhino sanctuaries and is the natural habitat of the black rhino. An optional add-on for this tour is lunch at the Carnivore Restaurant.

The visit can take 03 – 04 hours.

8. A day tour to Lake Nakuru National Park

Photo By skasuga

The park lies in Central Kenya, 140km north-west of Nairobi, in Nakuru district of the Rift Valley Province. The ecosystem comprises of the lake, surrounded by mainly wooded and bushy grasslands. The park supports a wide ecological diversity with Flamingos (Greater and Lesser) and other water birds being the major attractions of the area. The ecosystem provides for about 56 different species of mammals including the white rhino and buffaloes and a variety of terrestrial birds numbering nearly 450 species.

The tour requires a whole day with lunch inside the park.

9. A day trip to Amboseli National Park

Amboseli National Park is located in Loitoktok District, Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The ecosystem mainly savannah grassland spread across the Kenya-Tanzania border.

Getting there by road: The main road into the park is from Nairobi via Namanga (240 km) on the Nairobi - Arusha Road, through Meshanani Gate. The other road is from Nairobi via Emali (228 km) on the Nairobi - Mombasa Road. Access from Mombasa is mainly through Tsavo West National Park via Kimana (Olkelunyiet) Gate.

Getting there by Air: Airstrips: The park has a single airstrip for light aircrafts at Empusel gate. Other airstrips exist at Kilimanjaro Buffalo Lodge and Namanga town

The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants among other wildlife species. Other attractions of the park include opportunities to meet the Maasai and spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The tour requires a whole day with lunch inside the park.

10. A visit to Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Sanctuary

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is a small, flexible charity, established in 1977 to honour to memory of a famous Naturalist, David Leslie William Sheldrick MBE, the founder Warden of Tsavo East National Park in Kenya, where he served from its inception in 1948 until his transfer to Nairobi in 1976 to head the Planning Unit of the newly created Wildlife Conservation and Management Department. David died 6 months later but his legacy of excellence and the systems he installed for the management of Tsavo and wildlife generally in Kenya, particularly in the sphere of wildlife husbandry and ethics, lives on.

Highlights

Leave your hotel after breakfast and drive through Nairobi suburbs and through into the National park where the elephant orphanage is located. Here you will have the opportunity to learn more about the orphaned Rhinos and elephants.

About the blogger:

Africa land of sunlight, space and splendour, land of lions, elephants, buffaloes, cheetahs and rhinos stamps her imprint on your soul like nowhere else on earth. Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Victoria Falls, Kalahari, Masai Mara, Nile, and Sahara: her names are a powerful evocation of the wilderness and that longing that is in all of us for the wild. Check out SuperbAfrica to learn more about Africa.

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