Tourist Attractions in Kenya

Nairobi National Museum The museum is open on all 356 days throughout the year. Nairobi National Museum is located at Museum Hill, P.O. BOX 40658, Nairobi, Kenya the Museum Hill, approximately 10 minutes’ drive from the Nairobi city centre accessible both by public and private means. Built in 1929, this is the flagship museum for the National Museums of Kenya, housing celebrated collections of Kenya's History, Nature, Culture and Contemporary Art. Ref: www.museums.or.ke Karen Blixen Museum Karen Blixen Museum was once the centre piece of a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills owned Langata, Nairobi by Danish Author Karen and her Swedish Husband, Baron Bror von Blixen Fincke. Located 10km from the city centre, the Museum belongs to a different time period in the history of Kenya. The farm house gained international fame with the release of the movie ‘Out of Africa’ an Oscar winning film based on Karen’s an autobiography by the same title.

The Museum is open to the Public every day including weekends and public holidays. Guided tours are offered continuously. A museum shop offers handicrafts, posters and postcards, the Movie ‘Out of Africa’, books and other Kenyan souvenirs. The grounds may be rented for wedding receptions, corporate functions and other events. Ref: www.museums.or.ke Railway Museum This interesting little museum displays relics from the East African Railway. There are train and City Square, Nairobi ship models, photographs, tableware and oddities from the history of the railway. One such is the Engine Seat that allowed visiting dignitaries like Theodore Roosevelt to take pot shots at unsuspecting wildlife from the front of the train.

In the grounds are dozens of fading locomotives in various states of disrepair, dating from the steam days to independence, including the steam train used in the movie Out of Africa Ref: Lonely Planet National Archives Housed in the striking old Bank of India building on the bend of Moi Avenue across from the Moi Avenue, Nairobi Hilton, the National Archives amount to a museum and art gallery in the heart of the city that few visitors to Nairobi know about. If you want to see the locked archives themselves (mainly books, papers and some recordings. Ref: The Rough Guide to Kenya 2013 August 7 Memorial Park The August 7 Memorial Park occupies the site of the former American Embassy, which was corner Haile Salassie and Moi Avenue bombed by Al-Qaeda in 1998. The Park is peaceful refuge from the free-for-all downtown Nairobi, with grassy lawns and statues built from the rubble. It is also a chilling reminder of the horror perpetrated here. In the centre of the park, near the fountain, a wall commemorates each of the 218 victims of the blast. The memorial centre artifacts from the bombing and a video about the atrocity. Ref:The Rough guide to Kenya 2013 The Bomas of Kenya Bomas of Kenya offers Kenya in miniature! It is a must visit to all visitors. Situated 10km from Along Forest Edge Road off Langata Road Nairobi city center, and about 1 km past main entrance of the game-filled Nairobi National Park, Bomas of Kenya lets you see the wonderful diversity of cultures that make up this fascinating country. At Bomas different aspects of Kenyan culture are displayed including living styles, crafts, music and dancing.

The word Bomas was derived from "Boma"-a Swahili word for enclosed homestead and there are now many different "Bomas", each one representing one of Kenya's major ethnic groups. You, cannot afford to miss the most exciting traditional dances and acrobatic shows. Ref:www.bomasofkenya.co.ke Fort Jesus The Portuguese built Fort Jesus in 1593. The site chosen was a coral ridge at the entrance to the Makadara, Mombasa harbor. The Fort was designed by an Italian Architect and Engineer, Joao, Batista Cairato. The earliest known plan of the Fort is in a manuscript Atlas by Manuel Godinho de Heredia - dated 1610 which shows the original layout of the buildings inside the Fort.

The Fort Jesus museum was built with a grant from the Gulbenkian Foundation. The exhibits consist of finds from archaeological excavations at Fort Jesus, Gede, Manda, Ungwana and other sites. Other objects on display were donated by individuals notably Mrs. J.C. White, Mr. C.E. Whitton and Mrs. W.S. Marchant. The Fort has lived through the years of hostilities and a hush climate and is structurally well - maintained. Ref: www.museums.or.ke Lamu Musuem Lamu Museums are located in the Lamu Archipelago on the N. Coast, one of the most beautiful & P.O.Box 48, Lamu serene locations on the African continent and a World Heritage Site

The isolated island, with streets so narrow such that donkeys provide almost the only mode of transport makes the town quite unique. Ref: www.museums.or.ke The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (Elephant The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant and rhino orphanage, offers a chance to see staff Orphanage) caring for baby elephants and sometimes baby rhino ,which have been orphaned by poachers, or P.O. Box 15555 have been lost or abandoned for natural reasons. The trust is run by Daphne Sheldrick in Mbagathi, 00503, Nairobi memory of her husband, the founding warden of Tsavo National Park, and during the hour-long open house, the elephant keepers brings juvenile charges up to an informal rope barrier where you can easily touch them and take photos. Ref:.The Kenya Rough Guide 2013 Mamba Village Situated in Nyali, The Mamba Village is East Africa’s largest crocodile farm with over 10,000 crocodiles. Mamba Village is a very renowned tourist attraction in Mombasa. It combines crocodile farming, conservation, and ecosystem friendly quarry. Other activities within the Mamba Village are camel riding, horse riding and a unique "a la carte" restaurant specialized in game meat e.g. Croco-meat, Ostrich, Zebra, among other delicacies. Ref.: www.kaa.go.ke Bamburi Nature Trail The largest animal sanctuary in Mombasa, Bamburi Nature Trail boasts of an large variety of animals. A walk around the trail is the ideal way to look at the various animals found within. The trail was a result of an unusual attempt to rehabilitate a giant quarry. There is a large number of bird species, several hippos, crocodiles, antelopes and giant tortoise. Ref.: www.kaa.go.ke Mombasa Tusks The Mombasa Tusks are symbolic representations of entrance into the heart of the Mombasa town. They were built to commemorate the visit of Queen Elizabeth to the town in 1952, lying directly on the path from the port to the town. Ivory was considered to be an exquisite commodity during the time, and in essence the tusks were meant to embrace the Queen and the British Empire into the town and within its social structure. Ref.: www.kaa.go.ke Nyali Bridge Remnants of slave trade can still be seen today around the town. Fort Jesus still contains cells where the slaves were held, and various artifacts from that era in the museum at the Fort. In addition to the evidence in the Fort, there also is a town bell located in Nyali just as you exit the Nyali Bridge. The bell was rung to inform the locals to hide from the slave capturers who were fast approaching. Ref.: www.kaa.go.ke Gedi Ruins On the North coast of Mombasa towards the town of Malindi lays one the most pre-historic ruins found in Mombasa, called the Gedi Ruins. Gedi was a small town built entirely from rocks and stones, which was inhabited by a few thousand Swahili people and ruled by a very rich Sultan. These ruins date back from the 15th century, and through careful preservation most of the original foundations can still be seen today. Ref.: www.kaa.go.ke Hindu Temple The Hindu temple is a one of the many symbols of Mombasa's cultural diversity. The temple is a popular tourist spot and a tour can be taken inside the temple, with a historical background of the temple given by one of the temple gurus. Extravagant idols and stone carvings of the various religious beliefs are displayed within the temple and on its walls. It is located near the Railway Station just outside the perimeter of the downtown area. Ref.: www.kaa.go.ke

National Park and Reserves

Kenya’s National Parks and Reserves are administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) as total sanctuaries where human habitation, apart from the tourist lodges is prohibited. National Reserves, run by local councils, tend to be less strict on the question of human encroachment. Increasingly, the conservation effort is also being supported by private sanctuaries and community wildlife conservancies, where private operators work with the local community to conserve wildlife and the environment while bringing landowners a direct income to tourism.

Entry Fees

Park and reserve entry fees are set in US Dollars and payable in dollars or in punds, euros or Kenya Shillings. They are charged per person per 24- hour visit. For most parks and reserves, tourists pay usually in cash only at the gate where you enter. However, entry to the six most popular national parks-Aberdare, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, Nairobi, Tsavo and Tsavo West-is by pre-loaded smartcard called the Safari Card.

National Park/Reserve Description Main Attractions Accommodation Aberdare National Park Forest and montane grasslands, Hiking; elephants, buffalo, black Treetops and the The Ark, KWS “Majestic Peaks, Moorlands, Falls and so access by 4WD only rhino, giant forest hog, rare bongo cottage, camping much more” antelope Amboseli National Park Small, flat, marshy dominated by Mt. Kilimanjaro; elephant, hyena, Lodges, KWS cottages, camping “Kilimanjaro Royal Court” Kilimanjaro buffalo, zebra, hippo, giraffe, cheetah, lion Arabuko Sokoke National Park Coastal Forest , home of pioneering Walking; Aders’ duiker, elephant Camping in the site, hotels in community conservation projects shrew, birds and butterflies Watamu Bufflao Springs National Park Small reserve adjacent to Samburu Ewaso Nyiro River, lion, elephant, Lodges reticulated giraffe, Somali Ostrich, gerenuk; crocodile Chyulu Hills National Park Rarely visited volcanic hills near Hiking, horse-riding, cloud forest, One lodge and one tended camp Tsavo West black rhino, elephant, buffalo, outside the park, camping eland Kakamega Forest National Park Last stand of lowland tropical forest Walking, bird watching; great blue KWS bandas, camping, small “Canopy of Natural Beauty” in western kenya turaco, monkeys, chameleons lodges nearby. Lake Bogoria National Reserve Rift Valley soda lake with limited Hot springs; flamingos, greater Hotels outside reserve, camping facilities kudu Lake Nakuru National Park Soda lake, accessible by taxi Lakeshore circuit; flamingos, Lodges, KWS cottage, camping “Bird Watchers’ Paradise” pelicans, lion, leopard, buffalo, white and black rhino Maasai Mara National Park Best park for game-watching and Wildebeest migration; big cats, Dozens of lodges and tented often very busy, surrounded by huge variety of savanna wildlife camps, some budget conservancies with fewer tourists accommodation and camping outside the gates Meru National Park Beautiful landscapes, relatively few Lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, Lodges and tented camps, KWS “Complete Wilderness” visitors, increasingly good wildlife reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, bandas, camping black and white rhino Mount Elgon National Park Kenyan slopes of an extinct volcano Hiking;salt-lick caves, hot springs , KWS cottage and bandas, “Untamed Wilderness, Secluded Splendor” on the Ugandan border scenery, elephants camping Mount Kenya National Park Kenya’s highest mountain, an extinct Hiking and climbing; high altitude Hiking huts, hotels around the “Come touch the sky” volcano afro-alpine flora, buffalo, base elephants Nairobi National Park Close to downtown Nairobi, with a Full variety of plains game, Tented camps, lodge, camping great variety of savanna, streams, including giraffe, lion, cheetah, gorges and forest black and white rhino Saiwa Swamp National Park Smallest park in Kenya, access on Walking on boardwalks; sitatunga Small tree house, Sirikwa Safaris foot only antelope, birdlife guesthouse Samburu National Reserve Peaceful and beautiful park of arid Ewaso Nyiro River; leopard, Lodges, tented camps, lowlands north of Mt. Kenya elephant, reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, Somali ostrich, gerenuk, cheetah, Beisa oryx, crocodile Shaba National Reserve Better watered and less visited than Ewaso Nyiro River; elephant, jackal, One lodge, one tented camp Samburu with striking landscapes lion, Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe Shimba Hills National Park Forested hills near Diani Beach, with Views, elephants, sable antelope, Tree-hotel, KWS bandas, camping, “Paradise of the Sable Antelope” pleasant climate leopard, bush babies luxury lodges nearby Tsavo East National Park Biggest park in Kenya, popular for Mudanda Rock, Lugard’s falls; Lodges and tented camps “Theatre of the Wild” short safaris from the coast elephant, hippo, crocodile, lion, zebra, cheetah Tsavo West National Park Busy and popular core area, Mzima Springs (underwater Lodges and tented camps, KWS “Land of Lava, Springs & Man-Eaters” surrounded by wilderness hippowatching),lava flow; bandas, camping elephants, zebra, giraffe, lion, buffalo, lesser kudu Ref.: Rough Guide to Kenya 2013

Useful Sites about Tourism in Kenya: www.museums.or.ke www.kws.org www.magicalkenya.com www.lonelyplanet.com www.kaa.go.ke