🦏 Kenya 🇰🇪
Nairobi National Park is one of Africa's most unusual wildlife areas: a genuine savannah national park sharing its northern boundary with a capital city of more than four million people. Established in 1946 as Kenya's first national park, it covers 117 square kilometers of open grassland, riverine forest, gorges, and plains just 7 kilometers from Nairobi's city center, with the Nairobi skyline visible across the open plains during a game drive. The park supports lions, leopards, cheetahs, black rhinos, buffaloes, hippos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, elands, kongonis, impalas, and more than 400 bird species. It is unfenced to the south and east, allowing wildlife to move freely between the park and the Kitengela wildlife corridor and Athi-Kapiti Plains — a corridor under increasing pressure from development but still functional for seasonal migrations.
Dawn game drives inside the park, with lions and cheetahs active at first light against the Nairobi skyline in the background
Rhino encounters: the park holds one of Kenya's most stable black rhino populations, and sightings are relatively reliable
Birdwatching across grassland and riverine forest with more than 400 recorded species, including ostriches, secretary birds, and many raptor species
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage, adjacent to the park, where rescued infant elephants are raised for return to the wild — visits are daily at 11am
Nairobi Safari Walk, a raised boardwalk through the park's forest edge with close encounters of animals in naturalistic enclosures
Half-day safaris for travelers with limited time, flying in or out of Nairobi the same day
Sundowner picnics from some lodges with city views
The park is most useful as a morning activity before or after a Nairobi overnight, giving travelers who might otherwise spend time in the city a genuine wildlife experience. Combined with the Sheldrick Trust and the Giraffe Centre on Langata Road nearby, it makes a full and worthwhile Nairobi day.
🦍 With GorillaWise Collection & Safaris
We schedule a dawn Nairobi National Park drive on arrival or departure days in Nairobi, combining it with a Sheldrick Trust visit for travelers connecting to the Mara, Amboseli, or a northern Kenya circuit.
🗓️ Best Time to Visit
Year round. June to September and January to March are drier and the grass is lower, making wildlife easier to spot. The park receives rain from March to May and October to December.
Kenya 🇰🇪