Attractions in Nakuru County
52. Lake Nakuru National Park
Lake Nakuru National Park is on account of its beauty, diversity and popularity the upcountry counterpart of Nairobi National Park. At 188 km2 – enclosing the lake bed and the 60 km2 surrounding riparian – it is a fairly small park but far important than its size suggests. The Lake itself, 45 km2 at 5,776 ft., lying in a graben bound by the Lion Hill and the Mau Escarpment, is one of the world’s great attraction for ornithologists. Its parkway runs through the lush woodland before emerging at the lakeshore marked by a shimmering pink band, about 20 yards wide. It is the epic line made by hundreds of thousands of flamingos. And these are by no means all. More than 300 other species have been classified in the park, all which combine to make a unique and gratifying birding experience.
Lake Nakuru is a shallow pan which never fills to a depth of more than a few feet. The lake is a little deeper at the “Hippo Pools” at the north-eastern corner allowing the precarious survival of a small hippo population. The water is saline in the extreme due to the rapid evaporation of the shallow water body. In fact, “there have been prolonged periods in this century when it contained little if any water at all. The whole of the alkaline lake bed was exposed to the sun and formed a blindingly white expanse. Daily, for months on end, this was swept by strong southerly winds which picked up the dust and drove it as a dense white soda smog across Nakuru Town and right up the Rift towards Solai”. There are three useful observation points – Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of Africa hill – overlooking the lake. They offer lovely scenery and game viewing opportunities.
To enjoy its wide ranging beauty and ecological diversity – from its lake, forests, marshlands, open grassland, high cliffs and bush habitat with over 70 mammal species and 300 bird species – travellers can choose to camp at one of thirteen camping grounds run by Kenya Wildlife Service or at, with a touch of class and luxury, the stylish Sarova Lion Hill Lodge and Lake Nakuru Lodge. The latter, located at the south-eastern corner of the lake offers accommodation for 120 in family rooms, cottages or suites. Park entry fees: Citizens – Sh. 800, Residents – Shs. 1030 and Non-Residents – USD 60. The most common route into the park is via the main gate 4 km south of from Nakuru Town. It is also possible to enter the park from the main Nairobi-Nakuru Road via Lanet Gate. The Nderit Gate is used by trippers accessing the park from Masai Mara or L. Elementaita.
53. Makalia Falls
Makalia Falls at the extreme southern edge of Lake Nakuru National Park offers exciting sightseeing and can be easily reached 30 kms from the main gate along motorable parkways. Makalia Campsite with a capacity of 300 camps, favorably overlooking the Kiwi Plains, is a great launching point for adventure-makers to this park. Especially worth a visit soon after the rains – in May and December – Makalia Falls has a drop of just 10 ms, off a sheer cliff with a large plunge pool. For day-visitors to the Lake Nakuru National Park, a visit to Makalia Falls can be easily combined with visits to the three of its great viewing points: Lion hill, Baboon cliff and Out of Africa hill. Well-known as a rewarding birding location, there’s a good chance to sight around the falls the Southern Ground Hornbill, Slender-billed Starlin, Horus Swift, Plain Martin and the White-fronted Bee-eater. In the woodlands at the opposite corner of the park there is also a good possibility of sighting rare birds like; Black Cuckoo, the Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Broad-billed Roller, Nubian Woodpecker, Scimitarbill, and Stripped Kingfisher.
54. Menengai Crater
On a long day out in Nakuru you can combine visits to Lake Nakuru National Park, Hyrax Hill Museum and Menengai Crater. Menegai, north of Nakuru, can be accessed from either east or west. From the east, access is via C83 Nakuru-Nyahururu Road and in the latter along B4 Nakuru-Kabarak-Sigor Road. Either way, a visit here brings one to a site of stunning natural beauty. This remnant of an active volcano, forming a near perfect cauldron almost 12 kms in diameter, resonates with many peoples love for surface volcanoes. An arcane, ethereal but beautiful uninhabited hollow that once connected to the very core of the Earth, Menengai Crater – the widest in Kenya – is considered to be one of the world’s widest volcano caldera, only surpassed around Africa by Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. The views, once you reach the rim of the caldera, are well worth the effort. The highest ground is situated to the south and northwest of the caldera, an immense hole 56 km2 in extent which is bounded by an almost vertical wall only absent in a few short sectors of the caldera’s perimeter. To the south, the volcanic pile of Menengai rises, the country becoming less broken as the caldera is approached and the fault scarps gradually die out. The caldera floor itself is filled with a confusion of slaggy bouldery lava flows and cinder cones piled up to form a central eminence at 6,858 feet. The slopes of Menengai are in general fairly gentle, and while most people come to enjoy the sight from the viewing point, a select band of plucky hikers, every now and then, attempt the arduous walk down to the cauldron’s floor. Menengai is located 10 kms north of Nakuru.
55. Lord Egerton’s Castle
As you leave Nakuru westerly heading on Nakuru-Uganda Road the flat terrain of the valley gives way to the forested slopes on the Mau Escarpment which are a haunt of beauty and variety. Just 7 kms from Nakuru Town the turnoff to the farmland area of Njoro is reached. 6 kms later at the small centre of Ngata the turnoff to Lord Egerton Castle is reached, located 3 kms from here. Set on 100-acres, this architectural goliath built between 1952 and 1954 still appears larger than life six decades later. The grandeur and extent of the 53-rooms castle is so far-removed from its surrounding rural countryside that on arrival it evokes in equal parts awe and shock. As the story tells, Lord Egerton (Maurice Egerton, 4th Baron Egerton) had raised this castle to impress his fiance, but, she was not impressed, declining the offer to live in it, ruefully earning it its witty nickname as “the place where the suitor missed the target”, or again: “the castle without a princess”. Bizarrely, despite its air of melancholy and heartbreak, Lord Egerton Castle is a popular wedding destination. Just the same, it has a romantic milieu.
56. River Njoro Caves
An essential fact to remember is that Njoro is in the Rift Valley, so volcanicity is an important element in its physical geography. It also means the soils derived from volcanic rocks are rife for farming. Njoro is situated at the western edge of the floor of the Rift, at the very base of Mau Escarpment. At Njoro, the topping height of the contour line rises rapidly towards the escarpment from 7000 ft to 8100 ft (2140 ms to 2440 ms) over a distance of 8 kms. As such, this part of the valley is much higher, wetter and cooler than parts further north and south and, in the same way, the greater part of Njoro area is farmed, agriculture and stock farming being often carried out side by side. The greater part of the agricultural farmlands, of chiefly wheat and barley, are set on the higher ground near Molo and Elburgon. Hidden within the boonies of Njoro, at Njokerio Village, are the little-travelled Njoro Caves, a traditional pilgrimage shrine that was thrust into the limelight in 1938 when Dr L.S.B. Leakey excavated a vast prehistoric burial shrine dated back to 850 B.C. They offer rare insight on the connection between traditional religion and science. There is also a tiny waterfalls near Njoro Caves.
57. Kenana Farm
Established in 1963, the 345-hectare Kenana Farm 10 kms north of Njoro is one two sizeable farms around the Njoro-Elburgon area in company with Menengai Farm. The last-mentioned is found 15 kms northeast of Kenana and is reached along C57 Njoro-Elburgon-Molo Road. They are not completely separate farms since they are both operated by one family. Kenana Farm is located in an area of loam soil and specializes in crop growing and dairying while the Menengai Farm is located on unmixed volcanic ash and specializes in beef production. At Kenana, the primary cash crop grown is wheat, which covers about 81-hectares, and another 28-hectares are under maize. Even though both crops and animal products are sold, it is the profit obtained from the animals that is important. In the spirit of community empowerment, Kenana Knitters was begun in 1998, to help rural women find some much needed form of income using their spinning and knitting skills. It was founded on the aim of changing lives stitch by stitch. Now a full-blown company, deserving of a visit by trippers to Nakuru County, it produces an impressive catalog of knitted items. Each distinctive design is a hand-crafted Kenyan creation and bears the signature of the woman who made it. Moreover, it not only provides fair wages but regular steady employment. It has created a space where the women are able to take charge of their own lives and build a brighter future for themselves and their families. Kenana Knitters now employ over 200 knitters, 250 wool spinners and many other individuals who help dye, pack, sort and develop the woolen toys and garments they keenly produce. They recently branched into organic cotton farming in collaboration with a second womens’ group in Uganda. It is located 10 kms from Njoro Town.
Abiri Kenya 