Nairobi Travel Guide

Nairobi National Park is a rare wildlife reserve right next to a metropolis—where you can watch savanna animals while gazing at the city skyline, a unique and striking urban wilderness and one of Nairobi's stunning sights. Nairobi National Park sits on the edge of Kenya's capital, among the world's very rare wildlife parks adjacent to a capital, separated from the bustling city by only a fence. Though next to the city, it is open, pristine savanna and wilderness hosting rich wildlife: lions, rhinos (a key black-rhino sanctuary), giraffes, zebras, antelopes, buffalo, cheetahs, hippos and many birds (but no elephants). On a game drive you may meet these majestic creatures up close—a rare, striking encounter. Its most iconic image is the wild-meets-modern frame: animals like giraffes or rhinos with Nairobi's skyline behind them. Please follow your guide, keep distance, don't disturb, and be a responsible eco-traveler. Exploring Nairobi and its urban-wilderness park is a stunning sight.

The Giraffe Centre sits in Langata on Nairobi's outskirts, a non-profit protecting the endangered Rothschild's giraffe. Raised walkways and a feeding platform bring you eye-to-eye with the giraffes — the gentlest lesson in wildlife and conservation for families. The education centre also features other endangered species; keepers tell the giraffes' story from calf to release.

Amboseli National Park lies in southern Kenya on the Tanzanian border, famed for the elephants that wander beneath the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro — the best place in East Africa to see tuskers up close. Lake Amboseli is a dry salt pan that fills briefly in the rains, drawing elephants, zebras and buffalo to the Enkongo Narok swamps. Climb Observation Hill at sunrise for the classic "snows of the equator" shot. Stay at an in-park camp; game is most active at dawn and dusk.

The Nairobi National Museum, located on Museum Hill in Nairobi, is the flagship museum of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Its collections span palaeontology, ethnography, history, culture and nature, and contemporary art, with particular renown for human-origin fossils (such as hominid remains from Turkana) and artefacts of Kenya's many ethnic groups. The adjacent site also houses the famous Snake Park.

The Karen Blixen Museum, located in the Karen district in the southern outskirts of Nairobi, is the 1912 farmhouse where Danish author Karen Blixen lived; her memoir 'Out of Africa' is set against this period of her life, and the same-titled film was shot here. The house is now a branch of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and a gazetted monument, retaining its original furnishings and the surrounding coffee plantation.

Located near the entrance of Nairobi National Park, the Nairobi Safari Walk is a walk-through wildlife education centre run by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Raised wooden boardwalks pass through three simulated natural habitats - wetland, savannah and forest - allowing visitors to see rhinos, antelopes, primates and birds up close without venturing deep into the national park. It is a relaxing outing well suited to families and children.