VACATION DETAILS

Nairobi is Kenya's capital and one of Africa's most modern and fastest growing major cities. The original center retains Asian influence in its older buildings with glassy modern buildings. Visit City Market with local produce and handicrafts. Other attractions are: National Museum, displaying ethnographic, paleontological and ornithological exhibits; the Arboretum, with an excellent collection of East African flora; the University, known for its unique architecture; the excellent Kenya Railway Museum; and Nairobi's landmark, the extraordinary Kenyatta Conference Center, the country's most monumental building, visible from miles outside the city. There are casinos at Safari Park Hotel and Inter-Continental, and there's Sunday-afternoon horse-racing. Visit Karen Blixen Museum, where some action of the book and film Out of Africa took place. The beautiful forested Ngong Hills is a spiritual place for the Maasai and an excellent area for hiking and enjoying views of Nairobi and the Rift Valley. Nairobi National Park is a wildlife game reserve.

Samburu National Reserve is not very well-known, but definitely worth a visit. It is situated on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro river in Kenya. This means plenty of water, trees and shade to attract wildlife like elephant, lion, giraffe and zebra from the surrounding savannah plains. Leopards are also regularly spotted.

Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya's Rift Valley, located 100 mi/160 km northwest of Nairobi, is known for its flamingos, as well as its other birds (some 400 species have been documented). Hundreds of thousands of flamingos migrate among a handful of soda lakes in the area, including Lake Nakuru, so the actual number of birds varies at different times of year. But the sight of the massed flamingos is spectacular—when you gaze down on the lake from an overlook, it appears to be ringed in pink.

Other animals also inhabit the park. It's a rhino sanctuary, with both white and black rhinos—probably one of your best chances to see these endangered animals. It's also home to rare Rothschild giraffes. Keep an eye out for lions, too, or even leopards up in the arms of the tall yellow acacia trees.

Easy access from Nairobi makes this an excellent park for those on a quick trip to Kenya.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve (Masai Mara) is Kenya's finest and most outstanding wildlife sanctuary where gentle rolling grassland ensures animals are never out of sight. The climate is gentle, rarely too hot and well spread rainfall year round. The sensation of the great wildebeest migration between July and October is unparalleled. The wildlife is far from being confined within the Reserve boundaries and an even larger area extends beyond the game Reserve. Centuries of close association with the wildllife has resulted in an almost symbiotic relationship where wildlife and Masai people live in peace with one another. The first sight of this park is breathtaking. There is nowhere else on earth to compare with this wildlife marvel. The combination of a gentle climate, scenic splendour and untold numbers of wildlife makes the Maasai Mara National Reserve Kenya's most popular inland destination.