Why Aberdare National Park unique?

Why is Aberdare National Park unique?

Aberdare National Park, located in the cooler area of Kenya’s Central Highlands, is very different from the ordinary safari locations most travelers envision when they think of East Africa. For instance, places like the Maasai Mara are famous for their expansive, elevated, treeless savannahs and huge migratory herds of wildlife. Aberdare is not a savannah park; instead, it features a completely different type of safari in the mountains, the park consists largely of forests.

Aberdare stands out for the way it provides a safari experience with extraordinary landscapes and wildlife, combined with an unmistakable form of accommodation, giving you a unique and intimate adventure you won’t forget.

The altitude of Aberdare, as well as its range of unique ecosystems, from deep bamboo forests to rolling moorlands, makes this area worth a visit for an experience of Kenyan wilderness that you won’t find in other safari locations.

The Phenomenal Mountainous Landscape and Waterfalls

The first and most apparent of Aberdare’s uniqueness is its exceptional mountainous landscape. The park occupies the high peaks of the Aberdare Mountain Range, with peaks higher than 4,000m (13,000ft). Due to the high altitude, the climate is noticeably cooler than the heat experienced in the plains, equating to a more mysterious, lush environment.

The geographic layout is incredibly varied, going from thick rainforest and bamboo forests at the lower elevations to open grassy moorlands on the plateau, all of which create a spectacular setting for everything you want to do. Probably the most famous scenic attractions are the great waterfalls and rivers. The Aberdare has Kenya’s tallest waterfall, the Karuru Falls, which drops over the edge of a cliff face in three exceptional drops.

It also has beautiful Magura Falls and Chania Falls. These waterfalls, in addition to the clear mountain streams filled with trout, provide great opportunities for scenic drives, invigorating hikes, and photography that is unparalleled by any other park in Kenya.

A Refuge for Rare, Forest-Dwelling Wildlife.

Aberdare offers a genuinely unique experience of African Wildlife because it is one of the few places to track the “Big Five”—elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhino, and Buffalo in a dense forest and mountain setting, and not just on open grasslands. What makes its fauna so unique is that there are many rare and elusive species that thrive in the high-altitude forested environment of Aberdare. The park acts as a critical sanctuary for the endangered Eastern Black Rhino, housing the second largest population in Kenya.

For devoted wildlife enthusiasts, the rare sightings of animals adapted to this forest environment, like the Eastern Bongo, a beautifully striped and secretive antelope, and the Giant Forest Hog, the largest wild pig, are really amazing. You might spot the rare Black Leopard and the Black Serval, which are dark variations of their better-known relatives and primates like the Black-and-White Colobus Monkey. Seeing these animals is definitely slower-paced and requires patience compared to the vast plains safaris, but the sense of reward and satisfaction is greater when you finally get to see one.

The Iconic Lodge-Based Game Viewing Experience

No discussion about Aberdare National Park would be complete without reference to its iconic and historic accommodation setting. Lodges such as The Ark and the famous Treetops Lodge (the very lodge that Princess Elizabeth was staying in when she learned she had become Queen Elizabeth II in 1952) are set up so that visitors can overlook a series of floodlit waterholes and licks.

For devoted wildlife enthusiasts, the rare sightings of animals adapted to this forest environment, like the Eastern Bongo, a beautifully striped and secretive antelope, and the Giant Forest Hog, the largest wild pig, are really amazing.

You might spot the rare Black Leopard and the Black Serval, which are dark variations of their better-known relatives and primates like the Black-and-White Colobus Monkey. Seeing these animals is definitely slower-paced and requires patience compared to the vast plains safaris, but the sense of reward and satisfaction is greater when you finally get to see one.

This type of experience changes the conventional safari experience, as the fauna comes to you! You may sit on a viewing deck or balcony and have a meal or drink, whilst elephants, buffalo, hyenas, and even leopards and rhinos scrape salt and drink—all at a thrilling pace of a few meters from you. The lodges even provide a thoughtful service and will discreetly buzz your room if a notably rare animal arrives to drink or lick salt during the night.

This type of wildlife experience is an unparalleled way to observe both nocturnal and diurnal wildlife activity, along with the fact that you are in a comfortable and safe environment, a reflection of a “24 hour Kenya safari experience,” which continues to be one of Aberdare’s most remarkable and enduring tourism experiences.