Things to See in Nairobi
If you're in Nairobi for a limited amount of time, why not pop out for a short city tour or excursion? There are so many things to see in Nairobi that even a drive without stops can be a really interesting way to discover the city!
Nairobi City Tour
Nairobi city tour excursion offers you a perfect opportunity to learn about Kenya’s history, traditions, tastes and culture.This tour takes you through the Central Business District viewing local shopping centers, the Maasai market, Parliament Buildings, Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) and the Railway Museum. After this, a brief tour to the Snake Park and the National Museum a short distance away from the central district. The best time for this city excursion is normally in the mid morning when traffic is low and the hustle and bustle of the city is less.
This tour takes about 3 hours.
Karen Blixen Museum
The Karen Blixen museum is one of a number of very interesting regional museums and archeological and prehistoric sites of the National Museums of Kenya. Once part of a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills, Karen Blixen lived there between 1917 and 1931. Since then the house was purchased by the Danish government and given as an independence gift to the Kenyan government. The museum continues to be an immensely popular tourist attraction thanks to the movie “Out of Africa”.
Karen Blixen Museum Website
Giraffe Centre AFEW (African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Ltd)
Since the Giraffe Centre’s founders Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville rescued a baby giraffe named Daisy from a heavily-poached area of western Kenya in 1974, their home has become a household name among wildlife lovers world-wide and Daisy a star in her own right. The Giraffe Centre is a non-profit organization whose main objective is to educate school children and the youth of Kenya on conservation. It’s also a fun place for visitors to learn about conservation, giraffes and actually get to feed the giraffes! Giraffe Centre Website
This combined with visit to the Blixen museum takes about 3-4 hours.
Nairobi Orphanage and Safaris Walk
Only 20 minutes drive from the city centre the Nairobi orphanage and safaris walk is located at main gate to the Nairobi National park being the only protected area in the capital city. Major attraction bonding with orphaned animals, up-close animal view, play with cheetah,.We also have Lions, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, serval, very rare sokoke cats, warthogs, ostrich, leopards, various monkeys, baboon, buffalo, Birds: Parrot, guinea fowl, crown crane.
This takes about 2 hours.
Bomas of Kenya
Bomas of Kenya is an interesting tour to learn about the diverse cultures that make up Kenya. At the Centre you will be treated to a rich traditional music and dance show. Bomas of Kenya is only ten kilometers from the city center. Bomas of Kenya website
Takes about 3 hours.
David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
Get ready to come close to elephant calves! As part of the David Sheldrick Conservation Foundation, Daphne Sheldrick rehabilitates baby elephants and other wildlife here at her home just outside of Nairobi National Park. These babies have lost their mothers to poaching, death, injuries, on getting lost in the wild or other tragedies. Daphne and her dedicated staff raise them to be released back into the wild when they are ready. I'ts worth visiting to see humanitarian care of the wildlife and the heart it takes to care. There is a small entrance fee which can also be paid through purchasing a souvenir or donating to the conservation.
David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage website
The Carnivore Restaurant - a Unique Nairobi Experience
Going to The Carnivore Restaurant is one of Nairobi’s unique dining experiences. Meat is roasted on traditional Maasai swords, which waiters then carry around the restaurant, carving a variety of meat onto cast iron plates in front of you. The Carnivore is famous for succulent stew and barbecue dishes of game meat. This restaurant makes an excellent welcome or farewell dinner.
Tamarind Restaurant Nairobi: a Seafood-lover's paradise!
One of Nairobi’s most popular restaurants, the Tamarind Nairobi brings in a wide variety of exotic seafood fresh from the coast on a daily basis and cooks it to international standards.
From the Tamarind menu:
“We usually have a large selection of fresh fish from different origins
- red snapper (kungu), rock cod (tewa), sea bream (changu) or a game fish from the Indian Ocean
- Tilapia from the fresh water lakes of Kenya
- Fresh salmon fillets imported from Norway”
Day Trips Near Nairobi
Lake Nakuru
Day Trip Excursion Outside Nairobi
Lake Nakuru National Park Express is a full day trip to the Great Rift Valley Escarpment, 160kms from Nairobi. In the park you may see flamingos and other water birds, white rhinos and buffalos (that are part the park’s 56 species of mammals) and some of the nearly 450 species of land birds.
Lunch is taken before an afternoon game drive. On the return journey there is stop at Lake Naivasha where bird watchers will delight in the fantastic array of birdlife among the acacia trees. Lake Nakuru website
Takes full day.
Nairobi National Park
Day Excursion
Nairobi National Park is Kenya's first ever National park and is a unique and unspoilt wildlife haven within sight of the city's skyline and near Jomo Kenyatta Airport. In fact, it is the only protected area in the world close to a capital city (7km from Nairobi City Centre).
Rhino, buffalo, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, lion and plenty of antelopes and gazelles can be seen roaming in this open plains country with a section of highland forest as well as stretches of broken bush country, deep, rocky valleys and gorges with scrub and long grass. Ornithologists view over 300 bird species including the Secretary bird, Crowned Cranes, Vultures, Peckers and many more. Nairobi National Park website
This tour takes about 4 hours.
Ol Pejeta Conservancy
About 3 hours from Nairobi and situated between the foot hills of the Aberdares and the magnificent snow-capped Mount Kenya, the Ol Pejeta Conservancy boasts an astounding variety of animals including all the “Big Five” (the endangered black and white rhino, leopard, elephant, buffalo and lion) as well a sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees, the only one in Kenya.
Sweet waters Chimp Sanctuary is a privately owned conservancy whose sole objective is to provide a safe, secure and permanent refuge for about 40 chimpanzees in an environment that is as natural as possible. A visit to this sanctuary allows such unforgettable pleasures as this is the only place in Kenya where you are privileged to see these highly endangered primates.
A tour to this conservancy takes two days one night. |
