Guide TO Lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park is most popular for its ecological diversity making it a perfect place for tourists to find a wide range of attractions on their Kenya Safaris. Lake Nakuru National Park features among Kenya’s most explored destinations. The park is compact but prides itself on diverse attractions, rocky escarpments, vast plains, scenic waterfalls, and lush acacia forest.

Lake Nakuru Park to most tourists is a treasure when it comes to high concentrations of colorful flamingos. The huge profusion of flamingos can be spotted when they have painted the lake’s landscape while they feed on the algae along the shores. Lake Nakuru National Park isn’t only famous for its diverse flamingo birds, but also the 1985 movie ‘Out of Africa’ that starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

Location and size plus other facts about Lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park is spectacularly situated along the rift valley in Kenya. The Park is set South of Nakuru Town and North of Nairobi. Unlike most Parks in Kenya, Lake Nakuru National Park is compact with a land area coverage of only 188 sq. km. It was officially declared as a Conservation Area in 1957 and the primary reason for its formation was to shelter the beautiful flamingoes. In 1961, it was recognized as a Bird Sanctuary and today, it remains an iconic bird-watching spot in Kenya.

In 1968, Lake Nakuru National Park was officially recognized among the Kenyan National Parks. After a year, its border areas extended to encompass the surrounding areas featuring the forest habitats, bush lands, and savannas. It was later recognized as the first rhino sanctuary in 1984 and the main aim was to ensure the protection of black and white rhinos from poaching practices. Lake Nakuru remains the central feature in this Park. Lake Nakuru is an Alkaline Lake and is known for its fluctuating water levels.

Lake Nakuru National Park is set at an altitude range of 1750 to 1900 meters. The alkalinity in its scenic Lake Nakuru supports the growth of cyanobacteria/blue-green algae which millions of flamingoes depend on.

Main Attractions in Lake Nakuru National Park            

Wildlife and Birds to Encounter

Lake Nakuru National Park holds a wide array of wildlife making it a special wildlife safari destination. They include the endangered Rothschild giraffes, buffaloes, baboons, zebras, leopards, lions, rhinos, waterbucks, hyenas, warthogs, elands, impalas, vervet monkeys, gazelles, gerenuks, colobus monkeys, and more. A range of wildlife resides in the various habitats in Lake Nakuru Game Park, including Lake Nakuru itself, rocky outcrops, and acacia woodlands.

Bird Species to Identify.

Lake Nakuru National Park alone holds a total of about 450 species of birds making it one of Kenya’s most sought-after birding destinations. The birds of Lake Nakuru Park include the flamingos, marabou storks, great white pelicans, long-crested eagle, slender-billed greenbul, pallid harrier, Maccoa ducks, montane white-eye, rufous-necked wryneck, Speke’s weaver, white-headed vultures, verreaux’s eagle, and shining sunbirds.

Other species of birds to search for in this Park include the western reef heron, Northern puffback, Eurasian wigeon, Knob-billed ducks, cape teal, African black ducks, spur-winged goose, common quail, helmeted guineafowl, Hartlaub’s turacos, bare-faced go-away-birds, black-faced sandgrouse, Namaqua dove, Alpine swift, montane nightjars, pallid swift, and more.

Additional attractions to explore in Lake Nakuru National Park include the baboon cliff which offers panoramic views of the lake and acacia. Lake Nakuru which is a key attraction to most of the flamingos, hippos, pelicans, and other species. Makalia Falls which lies on the Southern part of the Park and is known for its scenic beauty perfect for picnicking. Expect to also explore the Park’s Euphorbia forest, the Out of Africa lookout, and Lion Hill.

Top Activities to do in Lake Nakuru National Park

Game drives.

If you are interested in captivating encounters with Lake Nakuru National Park wildlife then you have every reason to embark on a guided game drive. A guided game drive takes you deeper into the game tracks of Lake Nakuru as you search for amazing wildlife that makes this Protected Area one of the leading destinations in Kenya. During the guided game drive, you stand a chance to encounter wildlife such as African elephants, buffalo, giraffes, rhinos, leopards, lions, and antelopes, as well as enormous bird species. A successful game viewing tour in Lake Nakuru National Park requires a fully mechanized 4×4 safari vehicle.

Boat rides

A visit to Lake Nakuru National Park allows you to enjoy exciting relaxing boat rides on the stunning Lake Nakuru. On a boat ride, the focus is mainly on viewing hippos and other aquatic species including different bird species including flamingoes.

Birding/bird-watching

Lake Nakuru National Park is among the favorite birding spots in Kenya. Diversity of birds awaits you to spot on a Kenya safari in this park including the Bat hawks, Dark chanting-goshawk,long-crested eagle, violet wood hoopoe, Eurasian hoopoe, white-headed mousebirds, speckled mousebirds,Abyssinian scimitar bill, Narina trogon, African black-headed oriole, gray cuckoo shrike, and crab glover.

 

Additional birds to spot include the red-fronted parrot, western black-headed batis, chin spot batis, African paradise flycatchers, brown-crowned tchagra, fork-tailed drongo, slate-colored boubou, Ethiopian boubou, red-capped lark, sentinel lark, fawn-colored lark, African penduline-tit, great blue-eared starling, eastern imperial eagle, lappet-faced vulture, and moustached grass-warblers.

A birding tour in this Park also comes with amazing sights of birds such as cisticola, western reef heron, Schawlow’s wheatear, sooty falcon, Augur buzzard, Abyssinian thrush, brimstone canary, blue-billed teal, black-tailed godwit, and crab-plover, etc.

The best time to Visit Lake Nakuru Park

Lake Nakuru National Park experiences mild and temperate climatic conditions all year round. During the day, temperatures rise from 20 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. In the mornings and evenings, temperatures drop. The Park normally receives moderate rainfall with the long wet season recorded from April to May. The short wet or rainy months of the year in Lake Nakuru National Park extend from October to November.

The ideal time to visit Lake Nakuru National Park for game viewing is during the dry season. The dry season in Lake Nakuru Park occurs from June to October and the second phase extends from January to March. The dry months offer ideal weather conditions for tourists to enjoy excellent wildlife viewing in Lake Nakuru National Park Kenya.

Accommodation in Lake Nakuru National Park

The main accommodation options you can consider for an overnight stay in and around Lake Nakuru National Park include Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge, Lake Nakuru Lodge, Flamingo Hill Tented Camp, Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge, Ziwa Bush Lodge, The Cliff, Lake Elementaita Mountain Lodge, and others.

Getting to Lake Nakuru National Park from Nairobi City

Visitors in Nairobi can drive to Lake Nakuru National Park for about 3 to 4 hours. You navigate through the Naivasha and Gilgil route. Access gates to the Park include Nderit, Main gate, and Lanet gate. There is flexibility when it comes to getting to Lake Nakuru National Park because you can also connect from Baringo, Eldoret, or Naivasha.

By air, you can take a domestic flight from Wilson Airport in Nairobi and land at Lanet Airstrip. To access Lake Nakuru National Park, you should have cleared the entry fees which currently stand at USD 60 for adult foreign non-residents, and children (non-residents) between 3 and 17 years pay USD 35 per day. The Kenyan adult pays KES 800 per day and children KES 215.