Fancy a safari in Kenya? It will come as a surprise that you barely need to leave the capital to take one. Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, boasts of a national park teeming with wildlife right on its doorstep.

This park is home to a diversity of environments ranging from open grass plains with scattered acacia bush, highland dry forest and a permanent river with a riverine forest, to man-made dams, stretches of broken bush country as well as deep, rocky valleys and gorges with scrub and long grass.

Nairobi National park mainly attracts guests traversing to major tourist attraction sites within the country with a day or two to spare in the capital. Not only does it offer safari enthusiasts a taste of what to expect in the wilderness, it also provides a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city. To top it up, the beautiful background provided by the city’s skyscrapers gives you something to marvel at.

Aside from majorly being a touristic site, Nairobi National Park is also popular for a number of other things. The park is famous as an ivory burning site where former President Moi ignited 12 tons of elephant tusks and rhino horns in 1989, therein boosting the country’s conservation image. Today a monument marks this historic site. The park is also famous as a rhino sanctuary, breeding indigenous rhinos. This guarantees you sightings of endangered black and white rhinos in their natural habitat.

Another great site to look forward to at the Nairobi National Park is the Nairobi Safari Walk – a popular attraction offering animal lovers the chance to spot wildlife on foot over walking trails weaving around Hippo Pools. Visitors can also bond with orphaned baby elephants and rhinos at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

With Nairobi National Park, you get to sample what awaits you in bigger parks like the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Samburu and Tsavo. Its accessibility, being only 7km from the city centre, and having many entrance points; whether arriving into Jomo Kenyatta Airport, from Wilson airport or travelling south from the city itself, makes it a must visit destination.