TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Lake Nakuru National Park is location in central Kenya, about 140km north-west of Nairobi, in Nakuru District of the Rift Valley Province. It covers an area of 188 km2. Lake Nakuru is a shallow and strongly alkaline lake with an area of 62 km2. Set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and grassland next to Nakuru town.

The landscape includes areas of marsh and grasslands broken by rocky cliffs and outcrops, stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides covered with a Euphorbia forest on the eastern edge. The lake catchments is bounded by Menengai crater to the north, the Bahati hills to the north east, the lion hill ranges to the east, Eburu crater to the south and the mau escarpment to the west. Three major rivers, the Njoro, Makalia and Enderit drain into the lake, together with treated water from the town's sewage works and the outflow from several springs along the shore.

First gazetted as a bird sanctuary in 1960 and later upgraded to National Park status in 1968. A northern extension was added to the park in 1974 and the lake was designated as a Ramsar site in 1990. The vegetation found in this park mainly is wooded and bushy grassland with a wide ecological diversity and characteristic habitats that range from the lake waters to the escarpment and ridges. Normally water-covered surface of the lake occupies about a third of the park. The lake water supports a dense bloom of the blue-green Cyanophyte Spirulina platensis from which it derives its colour and which is the major food source for the flamingo.

The Unique vegetation is one of the major attraction with about 550 different plant species including the distinctive and biggest euphorbia forest in Africa, Picturesque landscape and yellow acacia woodlands.

Lake Nakuru is home to a myriad of greater and lesser flamingo flocks which frequently form a stunning pink ribbon along the edges of the lake. The best place to view the birds is from Baboon Cliff, where you can look out over the dazzling fringe of pink around the lake's shores. This paradise with over 400 species of birdlife having been recorded here, the park also plays host to herds of buffalo, waterbuck, impala, Rothschild giraffe, and leopard and a defined area of the park has now been designated a rhinoceros sanctuary. The park now has more than 25 rhinos, one of the largest concentrations in the country. Waterbuck are very common and both the Kenya species are found here. Among the predators are lion and leopard, the latter being seen much more frequently in recent times. The park also has large sized python snakes that inhabit the dense woodlands, and can often be seen crossing the roads or dangling from trees.

The lake is world famous as the paradise of the greatest bird spectacle on earth - myriads of fuchsia pink flamingos whose numbers are massive, often more than a million - or even two million. They feed on the abundant algae, which thrives in the warm waters. Scientists reckon that the flamingo population at Nakuru consumes about 250,000 kilos of algae per hectare of surface area per year. There are two types of flamingo species, the Lesser flamingo may be distinguished by its deep red carmine bill and pink plumage unlike the greater, whose bill has a black tip. The Lesser flamingos are commonly featured in picture documentaries mainly because of their large numbers.

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS 

FACILITIES
Naishi bandas

Lodges
Lake Nakuru Safari Lodges Camps Lake Nakuru
Lake Nakuru Lodge and Sarova Lion Hill Lodge.

Special Campsites
Naishi, Chui, Rhino, Soysambu, Nyati, Nyuki and reedbuck.

Public Campsites
Makalia  and Backpakers.

ACTIVITIES
Game viewing, bird watching

Climate
Ranges from Cold, Hot and Humid, Hot and Dry. Annual rainfall is 965mm