Kenya is made up of various travel destinations where a Kenya traveler can visit and enjoy their distinctiveness and these destinations may include national parks and reserves, lakes, rivers, beaches, towns & cities, Mountains and many others. However, out of the many travel destinations in Kenya, the following are some of the best travel destinations in Kenya of which an African traveler should not miss to visit:
Amboseli National Park
The Park is famously known for inhabiting the largest populations of herds of free-ranging elephants in Africa and it is found in Kajiado County in Kenya. A traveler to Kenya should be aware of meeting very many wildlife species in this Park more especially the elephants which are over 1,000 in the Park and all the three big cats (Lions, Leopards and Cheetahs) are also resided in this Park.
The Park consists of many good accommodations including budget and luxury lodges and camps which make it an ideal place for every tourist including those of luxury. Some of the Park’s accommodations include Amboseli Serena Safari lodge, Campi ya Kanzi, Tortilis Safari camp, Sentrim Amboseli Safari lodge, Amboseli Sopa lodge, Ol Tukai safari lodge, Kibo safari lodge and many more.
The park is still a better place for viewing all Africa’s big five wildlife species which include; African Lions, Cape buffaloes, Leopards, Rhinos and Elephants. Over 400 bird species are spotted in the park and inside the park and at the verandahs of some of the park’s accommodations, a traveler will have clear views of Africa’s highest free-standing Mountain called Mountain Kilimanjaro which exists in Tanzania.
The Park can be accessed from Nairobi city by either road or Air since the Park has a small airport called Amboseli Airport. The Park also resides many other wildlife species which include; The Masai giraffes, Impalas, Spotted hyenas, Cheetahs, Grant’s Zebras and Wildebeests.
Through the cultural encounters in the Park you will meet very many people who live there though the permanent and most dominant are the Masai people and others are just driven because of the areas successful tourist-driven economy and intensive agriculture along the system of swamps.
Maasai Mara National Park
Located in Narok County in Kenya, Maasai Mara is one of Africa’s best national parks to visit for wildlife safaris in Kenya it is absolutely the best. It is worldly known for the migration of wildlife which take place from there and during this migration of wildlife in the park is thus the best period to visit it since travelers will see a very increased and large number animals in the Park.
The migration takes place from July to October or later where more of the migrants are Wildebeests thus making the migration to be sometimes known as the Wildebeests migration since they migrate in millions.
Thousands of Thomson’s gazelles, Zebras and Topis together with the Elands also migrate to the Park during this Wildebeest migration which takes place each and every calendar year. The best place in the Park for viewing this migration is at the Mara River where these animals pass in order to enter the Park.
The Mara River is also a residence for the highest number of Crocodiles in East Africa and still in the River there is a large number of Hippopotamuses.
Several accommodations have been established in the Park to offer residence to the travelers in the Park who will do the many activities which take place there such as the game viewing, balloon safaris, bird watching, game drives and others. Accommodations in the Park include; Mara intrepids luxury club, Mara expedition camp, Mara Serena lodge, Entumoto camp, Little Governors camp, Mara bush houses, Mara leisure camp, Mara safari club and others.
Besides the high numbers of wildlife seen during the Park’s annual migration, there is also a large number of wildlife in the Park which include; Lions, Cheetahs, Hyenas, Coke’s hartebeests, Leopards, Cape buffaloes, Elephants, Rhinos, Grant’s gazelles, Impalas, Jackals, Roan antelopes and over 500 bird species.
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is also known as Lake Nyanza is the largest tropical lake in the world and Africa’s largest fresh-water lake by surface area and also the world’s second fresh-water lake by area after the great lake in America known as Lake Superior.
The passes in three East African countries (Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya) of which Kenya covers 6% of the lake and most part of the lake is in Tanzania and Uganda. River Kagera in Rwanda is the major River to flow its waters in the lake however though Kagera River flows more water to the lake than any other River, but Kenya’s Rivers (Sio, Nzoia, Nyando, Mogusi, Miriu, Yala, Sondu and Migori) combined together feed the Lake with more water than the single River Kagera thus a tourist in Kenya who will have gone there to adventure Lake Victoria should also visit these Kenya Rivers which feed the Lake to make it Africa’s largest and World’s second largest fresh-water River.
The lake is considered as a shallow lake considering its large geographic area with a maximum depth of approximately 260 feet or 80 meters and an average depth of almost 130 feet (40 meters). The findings show that the lake consists of ten thousand points and the deepest part of the lake is offset to the east near Kenya however the lake is generally shallower in the west along the Ugandan shoreline and along the Tanzanian shoreline in the South.
The Lake resides a variety of mammals which include Hippopotamuses, Spotted-necked Otter, Marsh Mongoose, African Clawless Otter, Bohor reed buck, Sitatunga, Giant Otter Shrew, Cane rats and Defassa water buck. Reptiles in the Lake include large numbers of Crocodiles, African helmeted turtles and Variable mud turtles plus the Williams’ mud turtles.
The lake resides a large number of fish species and it supports Africa’s largest inland fishery and currently the most caught and valuable fish species in the lake are Tilapia’s and Nile perches of which the fishing activity is mostly done from the woody sailing water vessels (Boats) which are made from timbers.
For the means of transport at Lake Victoria since the 1900s, Lake Victoria ferries have been an important means of transport between Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The main ports on the lake are Kisumu, Mwanza, Bukoba, Entebbe, Port Bell, and Jinja. Until Kenyan independence in 1963, the fastest and newest ferry (MV Victoria) was designated a Royal Mail Ship and in 1966, train ferry services between Kenya and Tanzania were established with the introduction of MV Uhuru and MV Umoja. The ferry MV Bukoba sank in the lake on 21st May 1996 with a loss of between 800 and 1,000 people making it one of Africa’s worst maritime disasters.
Samburu National Reserve
The reserve is situated in Samburu County at the shores of Ewaso Ng’iro River in Kenya of which the River is in the middle of the reserve. Inside the Park, a traveler will view all the three big cats which are Lions, Cheetahs and Leopards.
The existence of Ewaso Ng’iro River and the mixture of acacia, Riverine forests, thorn trees, and the grassland vegetation attracts a variety of wildlife in the Park including Crocodiles, Gerenuks, Grevy’s Zebras, Warthogs, Olive baboons, Impalas, Kirk’s dik dik, Grant’s gazelles, Water bucks, Hippopotamuses, Oryx, Reticulated giraffes, Cape buffaloes, Elephants, Leopards and a large number of bird species over 350 bird species which include Marabou storks, Vultures, Eagles, Grey-headed Kingfishers, Horn bills and many more. In the Park you will meet the Samburu tribe and enjoy their amazing culture.
Accommodations in the park are also adventurous since they are well built and designed from the local materials and some of the Park’s accommodations include Samburu Serena Safari lodge, Samburu game lodge, Samburu intrepids luxury tented camp, Elephant watch camp & safaris, Sarova shaba game lodge, Ashnil Samburu camp, Samburu Simba camp, Sentrim samburu lodge and many others.
Nairobi City
The city is also a best travel destination in Kenya and it is its capital city. The city is made up of many adventurous and attractive things including its national park called Nairobi National park making it one of the few cities in the world to possess a national park of which the park was the first ever gazetted Park in Kenya (in 1946).
The park is only 7 kilometers away from the centre of the city in the southern direction being guarded with the electric fence to separate the Park’s wildlife from the city state. The Park resides a large and varied wildlife populations including; Cape buffaloes, East Africa Lions, Elands, Zebras, Hippos, Leopards, Masai giraffes, Cheetahs, Coke’s hartebeests, Baboons, Black Rhinos, Gazelles, and Water buck.
Over 500 bird species including Vultures and Ostriches are resided in the Park thus enabling the bird watching activity to be done in the Park. Accommodations in the Park include Dafam hotel, Ole-Sereni hotel, Boma hotel, Panari hotel, Cat house, Masai guest house and many others.
Besides the city’s national park, Uhuru park is also a very attractive feature in the city plus the museums and skyscrapers in the city which are also adventurous. Another adventurous city in Kenya is Mombasa which has most of Kenya’s splendid beaches such as Shanzu beach, Kikambala beach, Pirates beach, Diani beach and many others.
