Lake Nakuru, Kenya

A streak of blue (and pink) in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, Lake Nakuru is home to thousands of pink flamingoes that flock here to feed on the lake's algae.

A UNESCO Heritage Site, Lake Nakuru National Park is also home to hippos, white and black rhino, giraffe and buffalo.

Fee: US$75 per non-resident adult in high season, US$60 in low season. Fees for Kenyan residents and citizens are about US$5-10.

Take a matatu 156 kilometers northwest of Nairobi, or a plane to the Naishi airstrip. www.kws.org;Guide: www.katokenya.org

The park is located in Central Kenya, 140km north-west of Nairobi, in Nakuru District of the Rift Valley Province. It covers an area of 188 km2. Lake Nakuru is a very shallow strongly alkaline lake 62 km2 in extent. It is set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and grassland next to Nakuru town. The landscape includes areas of marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs and outcrops, stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides covered with a Euphorbia forest on the eastern perimeter. Lake Nakuru was first gazetted as a bird sanctuary in 1960 and 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 foundation of the parks food chains is the cyanophyte spirulina platensis which can support huge numbers of lesser flamingo.

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

Accessibility

The park has a tarmac road connection with Nairobi, a distance of 156 km north west of Nairobi on the main A104 road. The most commonly used route into the park is via the main gate, 4 km from Nakuru Town Centre. It is also possible to enter the park from the main Nairobi Nakuru road at Lanet Gate. The Nderit Gate is used by people accessing the park from Masai Mara or Elementaita. The Naishi airstrip services the park for tourists.

Major Attractions

Flamingo (Greater and Lesser) and other water birds including a variety of terrestrial birds numbering about 450 species in total.

Mammals: 56 different species including white rhinos.

View-points: Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of Africa

Hills: Enasoit, Honeymoon, Lion hill ridge etc.

Waterfalls: Makalia

Unique vegetation: About 550 different plant species including the unique and biggest euphorbia forest in Africa, Picturesque landscape and yellow acacia woodlands.

Lodges:

 Lake Nakuru lodge & Sarova Lion Hill Lodge.

Special Campsites:

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

Public Campsites:

 Makalia and Bacpakers.

Activities

 Game viewing, bird watching

Common Vegetation

 The vegetation is mainly wooded and bushy grassland with a wide ecological diversity and characteristic habitats that range from the lake waters to the escarpment and ridges.The 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 Spirulinaplatensis from which it derives its colour and which is the major food source for the flamingo.The lake is fringed by alkaline swamps with areas of sedge,Cyprus laevigatus and typha marsh along the river inflows and springs. The surrounding areas support a dry transitional savanna with lake margin grasslands of Sporobolus spicatus salt grass moving into grasslands of Hyparrhenia hirta and rhodes grass Chloris gayana in the lower areas.

 More elevated areas have dry forest with Acacia xanthophloea, olive Olea hochstetteri and Croton dichogamus; Euphorbia candelabrum forest; and bushland dominated by the composites, Mulelechwa Tarchonanthuscamphoratus and Psiadia arabica.

For more information please visit the Kenya Wildlife Service Website www.kws.org