Travel in Aberdare National Park

The Aberdares is the established name of a mountain range which thrusts directly north from Nairobi for more than 160 km, with its mountain ranges and peaks soaring to heights over 14,000ft, giving way to deep V-shaped valleys with streams and rivers cascading over spectacular waterfalls. The range was named after the then President of the Royal Geographical Society by the intrepid Scot, Joseph Thomson, who explored the region in 1883. According to traditional Kikuyu folklore they are one of the homes of Ngai (God). Part of the range is protected as the Aberdare National Park and encompasses all land over 3200m together with a projection due east, known as the Salient, which reaches down to 2130m near Nyeri town.The park is a fairyland, awesome in its majesty and beauty. From its vital catchment area the Aberdare Rainforest feeds the entire local and Nairobi water supply. Above the forest is a belt of bamboo, a favorite haunt of the Bongo, a rare and elusive forest antelope. At 10,000 ft, the bamboo gives way to moorland, home to eland, spotted and melanistic several cats. Other features are the giant alpine varieties of lobelia, groundsel and heather. Ideal for walking, picnics, camping and trout fishing in the rivers, the moorlands are reminiscent of the European highlands. Animals abound in the forest: elephant, buffalo, giant forest hog and Kenya's indigenous and endangered Black Rhino. The entire forest is being fenced to protect settlement farmers from animal raids and to create a rhino and forest sanctuary. Game viewing is very rewarding: lion, leopard, baboon, Black & White Colobus and Sykes Monkeys are abundant. Rare sightings have also been made of the Golden Cat. Bird viewing is incredible with over 250 species recorded including Jackson's Francolin, sparrow hawk, African goshawk, eagles, sunbirds and plovers. Crossing these mountains is an unpredictable event since rain is both frequent and heavy. The highest point of the range is Ol Doinyo Satima (the mountain of the young bull in Maa the language of the Maasai), which reaches 3998m. There is a road which traverses the mountains from Naivasha to Nyeri which can be handled by a sturdy car in good weather. At its maximum elevation the road passes through misty moorlands at about 3350m where strange six meter tail mutants of alpine plants - groundsel, erica, hypericum, lobelia and sennecio - grow in profusion. Icy rivers plunge in glorious cascades and spectacular waterfalls. The salient which thrusts a dense forest through rich farmland is where both Treetops and the Ark are situated. The salient's origin lies in an elephant migration route between the two mountains now sadly no longer. But the forest is rich in wildlife, elephant and rhino, warthog, bush pig and giant forest hog, waterbuck, duiker, suni, dikdik, bongo and reedbuck are all to be seen. In the canopy the black and white Colobus monkey performs its aerial acrobatics and Sykes' monkey and the black faced vervet can also be found. The carnivores are represented by lion, usually more hairy and spotted than on the plains, leopard and serval the latter often seen on the moorlands and sometimes in its melanistic state. Birds are not only plentiful but also dazzling. The crowned eagle (which eats monkeys) is everywhere and the forest echoes to the shrill cries of the Silvery-cheeked hornbill. The resplendent sunbirds are well represented, among them the brilliant metallic violet Tacazze, the emerald green Malachite Sunbird and on the moorlands the Scarlet tufted Malachite Sunbird, with its very long sleder tail. The number of visitors to the Aberdares is high in the park rankings and there is a variety of accommodation. Treetops tree-house lodge and the Ark, a lodge built in the shape of Noah's Ark. Night game viewing is provided by the lodges in the Salient area of the Park with excellent sightings of elephant, buffalo, lion and rhino, drawn to the waterholes and saltlicks each evening.

Travel in Aberdare National Park Attractions

GeoPassage tours offers multitudes of travel opportunities, Aberdare National Park is just one of the many cities we offer day tours and individual attractions to, be sure to check out our entire catalog.