Things to do in Nairobi

Things to do in Nairobi : Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya it is the largest city in Kenya. Nairobi is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi which means a place of cool waters, has a population of over 10 million is commonly referred to as a city in the sun.

Nairobi is the only city in the world with wildlife giving it a unique status. It has a river passing through the city called the Nairobi River, it tributaries pass through Nairobi and joins Athi River in the eastern side. To the North is the indigenous Karura forest which Nobel peace price Wangari Mathai fiercely fought to save it from being replace with buildings.

The western side stretches all the way from the county’s biggest referral Kenyatta National Hospital. It also host the United Nations Headquarters at Gigiri, other landmark in the city are The Parliament, Nairobi City Hall, Holy family Cathedral, Nairobi Law courts ,Kenya International convention Centre.

There are several well maintained parks in Nairobi, the most famous and popular being Uhuru park. There is central park which is adjacent to Uhuru park which has a memorial for  Jomo Kenyatta the fist president of Kenya and  Moi Monument the second  president built in 1988 to commemorate first decade in power. Other open spaces include the City park, Jeevanjee Garden, 7th August Memorial park and Nairobi Aboretum.

Nairobi is home to Nairobi securities Exchange (NSE) one of Africa’s largest in stock exchange. The city also host some of the largest companies in Africa such as Safaricom the largest company in Kenya by both profitability and assets. Others are KenGen ,Kenya Airways which uses Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as its hub ,General Motors, Google, Coca-Cola among others.

Nairobi being the administrative location of Kenya,there are plenty of activities to do within the ever busy city.

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is one of the best places to visit in Nairobi. It was founded in 1977 by Daphne Sheldrick in honour of her husband David  Sheldrick as a centre to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned elephants. It is 17.1 kilometres by road via Lang’ata and Magadi Road from the city’s Central Business District.

David Sheldrick was a naturalist and the founding warden of Tsavo East National Park throughout their live they have rehabilitated  many wild animal species. Daphne was the first person ever to introduce hand bottle milk feeding program for the milk dependant baby elephants, she also discovered that Coconut oil is the nearest substitute to the fat in the elephant milk. Once the elephants have graduated from the Nursery aged between 2 to 3 years they are moved to one of Sheldrick Wildlife Trust reintegration Centre at Tsavo East  National park from where they are released back into the wild.

The non profit organisation changed their name in February 1 2019 from David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in order to honour both David and Daphne Sheldrick. It is leading in conservation efforts to help the African bush Elephant from grave danger of illegal poaching. They also help raise orphaned baby elephants and reintegrate them back into the wild. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is located in Nairobi National Park and is open for the public for only one hour a day.

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust travel all over kenya to rescue orphaned animals such as African Elephants, Black Rhinoceros ,Giraffes, Hippos and White Rhinoceros .The Trust in conjunction with Kenya wildlife service .The Trust in conjunction with Kenya wildlife service operates Anti-Poaching Unit, Veterinary Units and Sky vet to alleviate the suffering of injured wild animals.

Giraffe  Centre

Giraffe centre is one of the magnificent places to visit in Nairobi Kenya. It is located in Lang’ata approximately 20 Kilometres from the City centre. The Giraffe centre was established to protect the endangered Giraffes only found in the grasslands of East Africa and was founded in 1979.

It was started by Jack Leslie Melville ,the Kenyan grandson of a Scottish Earl. He and his wife Betty captured two baby giraffes to start a process of breeding them on their Lang’ata property site. Since then the program has been successful resulting to introduction of Rothschild Giraffes into Kenya’s National parks.

In1983  enough money had been raised to open it as one of the tourist attractions in Nairobi. It is today one of the main attraction to both school going children and other visitors who join in feeding the Giraffes from raised observation point. The Giraffe centre is also home to several Warthogs who roam the area.

Giraffe Manor is a 5 star hotel built  in 1930, located inside the Giraffe centre. The hotel has green creeper and large windows  from which the Rothschild Giraffes would peep into while having your meals making it a perfect place for a romantic safari treat.

Nairobi National park

The world’s only wildlife capital is one of the amazing places to visit in Nairobi Kenya. Nairobi National Park was established in 1946 and it is located just 7 kilometres south of Nairobi. The park is made up of wide grass plain with scattered acacia trees and a backdrop view of the city’s skyscrapers giving it a spectacular sights ever seen anywhere in the world. The park’s host a variety of wildlife including 4 of the big five animals Lion, leopard, Rhinos and Buffaloes, other animals found in the park are cheetahs, Hyenas, zebras giraffe, blue wildebeest, Hartebeest, Impalas, eland, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, Warthogs, Black jackals among others with over 400 recorded bird species.

Karura Forest

A visit to Karura forest is a wonderful experience to try in the busy city. The Forest was gazetted in 1932 and it is being managed by Kenya Forest Service in conjunction with Friends of Karura Forest Community Association.

Karura Forest is home to over 200 species of birds, other animals included the Suni , Duiker, Bushbuck, Bush Pig,  Civet, Genet, Honey badgers, Bush babies, porcupine, Hares and Fruit bats among others reptiles and Butterflies.

Karura Forest is about 1041 ha ,is one of the most visited places in Nairobi. The Forest has a creation 50 kilometres for  Nature trails, walking, running and biking. The Forest has an electric fence for security purpose, most people visiting Karura are  70% Kenyans of all races. Karura Forest has attracted international attention after receiving a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence two years in a row and being listed number 4 out of 100 things to do in Nairobi.

Nairobi National Museum

Nairobi national museum is just 20 minutes drive from the City centre. It is a place of discovery, contemplation and learning of Kenya’s art, culture, history and nature. The Museum was initiated in 1910 by a group of Natural Enthusiasts under then East Africa and Uganda Natural History society currently East Africa Natural History society.

Things to do in Nairobi
Nairobi National Museum

The Museum hold both temporary and permanent galleries that attract both learners and tourists making it a must visit place in Nairobi. Some of the permanent galleries include ;The cradle of mankind gallery, The story of Mammals, The History of Kenya, Circles of life national, Numismatic exhibitions, Asian African Heritage Exhibition galleries.

The Nairobi National Museum receives admissions daily Monday to Sunday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm including Sundays and public holidays. Night tours of organised groups of less than 10 people can be organised through advance booking for the Museum to be opened between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm except when there is a private function.

Karen Blixen Museum

Karen Blixen Museum is found on the foot hill of Ngong hills 10 kilometres away from Nairobi City centre. The house was built in 1912 by Swedish Engineer Ake Sjogren, Karen and her Husband bought the house in 1917 and it become a farm house for their 6000acres farm from which 600 acres was coffee farm .

The Museum is found in this serene environment which seem to belong to the past and surrounded by a tranquil garden and indigenous trees with a splendid view of Ngong hills. The farms outdoor exhibitions from that period  include tractors ,plough, wagons and coffee processing plant from part of the rich collections.

Karen Blixen Museum is  well maintained and can host some of the best outdoor activities such Corporates galas ,weddings, weddings receptions and team building events. Guided tours are offered daily by well trained multilingual  guides, Things to do in Nairobi

There is a Museum shop which offers a wide selection of souvenirs such as Handicraft, posters and post cards, the movie Out of Africa, books and other memoirs. It is a haven for birdwatchers and one of the highly rated destination by TripAdvisor.

Bomas of Kenya

Bomas of Kenya is a tourist village in Lang’ata approximately 10 kilometres from Nairobi Business District. Bomas of Kenya is located in South of Nairobi, was first opened in 1971 and has since then receive million of visitors.

Bomas of Kenya  can host any function you can dream of, ranging from street functions, end year parties, award ceremonies, and corporate functions.

There is a display of Kenya’s traditional villages belonging to different tribes of Kenya, there are traditional dancers who perform in the Auditorium. It also hosts the largest Auditorium in Africa. The word Boma means a home in Kiswahili, therefore Bomas is the plural which means homes of Kenya.  It is open daily from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm except on  Sundays. The centre is the Subsidiary of the Kenya Tourist Development Cooperation and has been in existence for decades.

Other than  the traditional houses on display, there are also great vegetation of shrubs and trees with scientific names attached to them. There are paths meandering in the bushes in to the homesteads. Bomas of Kenya holds a lot in the history of cultural preservation in Kenya.

Kenya National Archives

Kenya National Archives is located at the Central Business District, along Ambassadeurs hotel. It was established in 1965 through an act of Parliament. It contains Murumbi gallery which contain African Artifacts collected in the 19 century.

The Murumbi gallery is located at the ground floor of the Kenya National Archives, named after Joseph Murumbi who was the second vice president of Kenya.It is today the largest Pan African gallery in Africa keeping ancient art collections from different communities from regions of Africa. The collected Artifacts were acquired by the Kenyan Government after an agreement with Joseph Murumbi who had turned down the offer to buy them by overseas bidders

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