Nairobi National Park — Safari Within Sight of Skyscrapers
Nairobi National Park is one of the most unusual wildlife areas on earth: a genuine national park — home to lions, leopards, cheetahs, buffalos, hippos, giraffes, zebras, and one of Kenya’s most important black rhino populations — that sits seven kilometres from the centre of a capital city of five million people. From the park’s northern boundary, the Nairobi skyline is visible behind the acacia trees. It sounds absurd, but it works, and it has worked since the park was gazetted in 1946 as Kenya’s first national park.
Who Nairobi National Park Is For
Nairobi National Park is not a substitute for the Masai Mara or Amboseli. It is 117 square kilometres — small by East African park standards — and the proximity of the city means you are never entirely in wilderness in the way you are in the larger parks. But it serves several specific purposes very well. If you are transiting through Nairobi with a day to spare before or after your safari, a morning game drive in the park is a perfectly genuine wildlife experience, not a zoo visit. If you are travelling with children who have never seen large wild animals, Nairobi National Park is an excellent and low-logistics introduction. And if you specifically want to see a black rhino — one of the hardest animals to find in most parks — Nairobi has a breeding population that is reliably seen.
The Rhinos and the Predators
Nairobi National Park has over 50 black rhinos, making it one of the most important black rhino sanctuaries in Kenya. The park is fully fenced on three sides (the southern boundary is open to allow wildlife movement to and from the wider Kitengela ecosystem), and rhino sighting rates are high. Lions breed in the park and prey on the zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo that are present in good numbers. Leopards are present but more elusive. Cheetah sightings happen regularly on the open plains of the park’s central section.
Practical Details
The park gate is about twenty minutes from central Nairobi and forty minutes from the international airport. A morning game drive of two to three hours covers most of the park’s main circuits. Most visitors do Nairobi National Park as a half-day trip from the city — either on arrival day before flying out to another park, or on a final day in Nairobi before departing home. Let us know your Nairobi layover dates and we can arrange a half-day game drive as part of your itinerary.