Kenya
Lake Nakuru National Park is a star among Kenya’s parks. Better known locally than internationally, it nevertheless is a rival for Kenya’s second best wildlife reserve. It is home to all of the usual suspects, including a particularly vibrant population of rhinos. However, it is not for mammals that tis park is renowned, but for birds, particularly flamingos. As many as a million of the magnificent pink birds may be enjoying the lake at any given time here.
The area around Lake Nakuru has been popular with travelers through Kenya since the 19th century. However, it was not until the postwar period that the lake started to be recognized for its environmental importance. It was not established until 1961, primarily as a bird sanctuary. In later years, additional land was added to protect other local wildlife, especially rhinos.
Lake Nakuru is a highly alkalai lake that attracts huge numbers of birds, especially flamingos. It is not unusual for hundreds of thousands of these beautiful pink avians to be congregating along the shoreline at any given time. The park also protects mammals, including baboons and giraffes. Other than the flamingos, the most popular resident here are the hundred or so rhinos, both black and white, one of the largest concentrations anywhere.
Lake Nakuru National Park covers just under 200 square km in southwest Kenya, approximately 100 miles northwest of Nairobi. Thanks to this proximity to the capital and extensive road access, Lake Nakuru is one of the most popular parks in Kenya. It is open year round. As of this writing no visitor information was available. Web: www.kws.go.ke/lake-nakuru-national-park (official website)
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