Lake Nakuru National Park is one of the unique attractions in Kenya and is located in Nakuru county. With Naicef, get to encounter Lake Nakuru, experience Lake Nakuru National Park, stay at the best Lake Nakuru hotels and return with a professional Naicef guide from Lake Nakuru to Nairobi.
‘Is Lake Nakuru worth visiting?’ you might ask. This is one of the top popular and unique National Parks in Kenya and Naicef will curate memorable pink experiences for your tour.
History of Lake Nakuru National Park.
With an area of 188 sq km, Lake Nakuru National Park was established in 1961 in Nakuru town. It started off small in size having only the lake, but it has been extended ever since to include a large part of the savannahs.
In 1968, the park was gazetted as one of Kenya’s national parks. In 1977, the endangered Rothschild giraffes were brought to the park for conservation and protection.
In the 1980s, rhinos were also introduced, for the sake of conservation thus in 1984, the park was designated as the first government protected rhino sanctuary in Kenya.
Since its establishment, the park has more than 25 black rhinos and 70 white rhinos, these are the largest concentration of rhinos in the country.
This action urged the need to ensure the park’s fencing in 1987 in order to keep out poachers and ensure wildlife is safe within the park.
For 12.1 km, the park stretches to the southeast with Soysambu conservancy, which is foreshadowed to habitat the rhinos as it is the only remaining wildlife corridor to Lake Naivasha.
Together with Lake Bogoria and Lake Elementaita, Lake Nakuru boasts of being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to the Kenya’s Rift Valley Lake system and an IBA since 2009 and a Ramsar site on 5th June 1990.
Interesting facts of Lake Nakuru National Park.
- ‘What is Lake Nakuru National Park famous for?’, The park, which is also known as the Sea of pink, is famous for millions of colorful flamingos, rare sightings of Rothschild giraffe, leopards and numerous rhinos. Maasai Mara has the great wildebeest migration as to Lake Nakuru has flamingo migration.
- Is Lake Nakuru a salty or freshwater lake? The lake is a saline lake.
- How deep is Lake Nakuru? The lake is 6 feet deep covering an area of 45 sq km.
- What does ‘Nakuru’ mean in Maasai Language? Nakuru means ‘dusty place/ dusty’
- Being a bird hub, the lake has gained designation of being an IBA and a Ramsar wetland. For a region having a water body to be called a Ramsar wetland, it means that, that site is a unique and rare wetland that is important for conserving biological diversity in our case, it’s the lesser and greater flamingoes.
- Did you know? The gravesite of Lord Baden-Powell is located less than 100km from the park. Baden-Powell was the founder of boy scouts.
- What do travelers enjoy the most about Lake Nakuru National Park? The park is famous for the beautiful flamingoes and dense population of Rhinos. Be sure to enjoy bird viewing, natural landscape scenery and Safari.
- One can combine the park with other destinations like Lake Naivasha, lake Bogoria, Hells gate and Naivasha national park. Due to its position in the region, it’s surrounded by other famous tourist attractions in Kenya including the Aberdare National Park which is nearby by a few kilometers.
- Which county is Lake Nakuru National Park located? This park is located in Nakuru county.
Geographical features and climate of Lake Nakuru.
The lake being alkaline in nature, entices over 2 million flamingo birds and other migratory birds to the lake. The park, hosting Lake Nakuru comprises of steep rocky escarpments, hills and cliffs that act as viewpoints during game viewing activities in the park.
The park has an elevation of 1,756m and cooler compared to other beautiful Kenyan parks. Note that the lake and park are found at the equator, so it’s neither too hot nor too cold and temperatures range from 12 0 c – 25 0 c.
Best time to visit Lake Nakuru National Park is during the months of June to February and July to February- which are busy months in the park.
Attractions in Lake Nakuru.
Lake Nakuru National Park is the major attraction in Lake Nakuru, characterized by woodlands, grasslands and the savannahs. These vegetations are habitats for the wildlife species well spotted from different angles inside the park.
Kenya Wildlife Services manages all the national parks and reserves in Kenya, for the conservation of wildlife.
Flamingo watching.
These beautiful birds on the lake’s shores, are what champion for the park and the lake to get the prestigious recognitions, making it unique among the national parks in Kenya.
Over 2 million flamingos are seen on the lakes’ shoreline. Other bird species inside the park include; African fish eagle, goliath heron, grey crowned cranes among others.
Wildlife.
Wondering, ‘which are the best animals to see at Lake Nakuru National Park?’
This beautiful park is not only a bird hub but also has wildlife that include, Rhinos- both black and white Rhinos since the park has successful conservation efforts for Rhinos, Lions, Leopards, Giraffes- the rare species, Rothschild giraffes, herds of buffalo, Zebras, Baboons, Waterbucks, Warthogs and Cheetahs.
Waterfalls.
Inside the park, there are magnificent waterfalls called Makalia waterfalls, located in the southern part of the park and a great spot for hikes, picnics and a great viewpoint of the park and breathtaking surroundings.
Baboon cliff.
A popular viewpoint inside the park offering a perfect view, photography related for snapping Lake Nakuru and its beauty.
Cresent Island.
An add-on in your visit, in this privately owned sanctuary that doesn’t have any predators. This enables you to stroll with the animals inside the island.
Lion hill, Flamingo hill, Out of Africa & Baboon cliff are some of the surrounding features that assure the best game and bird viewing. Watch out for lions near Flamingo hill.
Lake Nakuru National Park entrance fee
The park is accessible via two gates, including; Nderit gate and Lanet gate.
The entry fees are;
Non- Residents;
Adults: $60
Children: $35.
For residents are;
Adults: KES 860
Children: KES 215
This is according to the Kenya Wildlife Service site.
Activities in Lake Nakuru National Park
Trying to figure out what to do in Lake Nakuru National Park? Here are activities you can do during your visit and Naicef enhances your experience with these activities;
Game drives: Game drives are one of the main activities to undertake during your visit, in order to experience the famous attractions inside the park. Game drives offer wildlife viewing before getting to the viewpoints inside the park.
These game drives take place at different times of the day providing unique experiences during safaris. With each game drive you take with Naicef, you minimize on environmental impact with our sustainable and eco-friendly tactics.
Hiking: There’s a hiking activity at one of the viewpoints, Makalia falls, has an impeccable viewpoint and also, the hike leads to the Makalia waterfalls, which is not so big, but it’s definitely worth the visit.
Bird watching: As stated before, the lake has perfect views of flamingos as it is famous for that and many other migratory birds. Carry your guidebooks, cameras and binoculars for bird viewing.
Accommodations in Lake Nakuru National Park
Lake Nakuru hotels are categorized into luxury, budget and mid-range accommodations as well as camping. Here are the Lake Nakuru hotels to stay during your visit;
- Sarova Lion Hill lodge
- Lake Nakuru lodge
- Merica hotel
- Mbweha camp
- Hotel waterbuck Nakuru
- Loldia House, among others.
Campsites, for tourists opting to camp as an option of accommodation during their visits include;
- Naishi campsite.
- Rhino campsite.
- Soysambu campsite.
- Makalia campsite.
Book with Naicef, to get the best deals for your stay at these hotels and camps!
The park is open from 6am to 6pm, hiking is only in special areas on park rangers’ company. Mode of payment for the park’s entry fees include Mpesa, visa card, or via eCitizen platform.
How to get there? Consider booking your tour with unforgettable experiences with Naicef from Nairobi. Lake Nakuru From Nairobi takes approximately 3 hours by car from Nairobi.
For every safari and visit you take with Naicef, you impact Sustainable tourism through the environment and the local community. Naicef focuses on raising responsible tourists.
For the best Lake Nakuru National Park Safari and Package, contact Naicef.com or write to my@naicef.com or +254799922277
