Attractions

 

This is a sanctuary for the rare Rothschilds giraffe. And the abbreviation AFEW expands to The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. It has a platform where you can feed the giraffes and get the close-up photographs that may have eluded you on the safari.

Across the road, but still part of the centre, a small patch of forest has very cleverly been allowed to survive. You can take a 1 km (0.6mi) self-guided nature walk through this forest.

Altitude: 5,000 Ft

Area: 117 Sq. Kms.

Distance from Nairobi: 7 Kms.

Nairobi National Park, which was opened in 1946, is only a few km from the centre of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Nowhere in the world will you find lions, cheetahs, rhinos and large herds of other wild beasts right in the midst of bustling humanity and their modern contraptions. Indeed, the beasts too are the citizens of Nairobi!

During the annual Serengeti migration in July and August, large herds of zebras can be seen. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded in the park. It is a leading rhino sanctuary. There are also wild buffaloes, leopard, crocodiles and hippos.

The sanctuary visit can also be planned as a one-day outing from Nairobi. The sanctuary has all weather roads good for saloon & 4WD vehicles. There is a Nature Trail & education centre at Main Gate. Other highlights are the historic Ivory Burning Site, 6 Picnic sites and a Hippo pool nature trail.

The archives has an impressive exhibition of Kenyan handicrafts, a collection of paintings, and a variety of photographs of the first Kenyan president Mzee Kenyatta and former president Moi visiting different countries and mingling and shaking people's hands. It is instructive and informative.

The National Museum is a lovely place with cool and peaceful interiors. It's worth visiting the National Museum as both an introduction to Kenya and an escape from Nairobi's hot dusty streets. You can see here, displays of fossils, tribal artefacts, and a bird gallery with more than 900 stuffed and mounted specimens.

This is Nairobi's cultural centre. It is located in Langata, south of Nairobi, just down from Nairobi National Park. Not far away is the Langata Giraffe Centre. A visual treat awaits you there. You can see a display of traditional homesteads, or bomas, watch traditional dances and hear songs from the country's many ethnic groups. The performances are exotic as well as exhilarating. There are daily performances.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is one of Kenya's large aviation facilities and the airport that serves the country with the most international flights. The airport's IATA Airport Code is NBO while its ICAO code is HKJK.

Located in Nairobi, Kenya, it is named after Kenyan leader Jomo Kenyatta, and it is the hub for Kenya Airways.

On 20 November 1974, a Lufthansa Boeing 747-130, D-ABYB, crashed on take off from the airport killing 59 of the 157 on board.

On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, which was on a Addis Ababa-Nairobi-Brazzaville-Lagos-Abidjan route, was hijacked after it entered Kenyan airspace. The hijackers demanded that the plane be flown to Australia, but the plane ran out of fuel and crashed in the Comoros Islands.