Lake Nakuru National Park – The Ultimate Guide  

Lake Nakuru National Park – The Ultimate Guide  

Lake Nakuru National Park – The Ultimate Guide : Lake Nakuru national park is a wildlife kingdom and a birders paradise in Kenya with scenic views created by Lake Nakuru, millions of pink flamingoes and other picturesque sites dotted around the park, the park covers an area of 45 square kilometers.

Lake Nakuru national park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized in 2011, an Important Birding Area recognized in 2009 and a Ramsar site recognized in 1990.

 Lake Nakuru national park is a very rewarding Kenya safari destination which should not miss on your Kenya safari itinerary, the park is recognized is one of the premium national parks in Kenya together with Maasai Mara national reserve and Amboseli national park.

 This article discusses everything you need to know about Lake Nakuru national park, this article helps you get a deeper insight about Lake Nakuru national park and help you decided when planning your Kenya safari to Lake Nakuru national park.

LOCATION OF LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

Lake Nakuru national park is situated in the Kenyan Great Rift Valley in a chain of numerous soda lakes including Lake Nakuru protected by Lake Nakuru national park, Lake Naivasha, Lake Bogoria, Lake Elementaita and Lake Baringo.

Lake Nakuru national park is located in the south of Nakuru County with Nakuru Town as the nearest developed town, about 164 kilometers about 2 hours drive from Nairobi city the capital of Kenya.

 Lake Nakuru is hosted within Lake Nakuru national park and it sits at 1754 meters above the sea level.

 LAKE NAKURU FLAMINGOS

Just like other fellow alkaline lakes found on the Great Rift Valley floor such as Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru and the park is famous for large flocks of pink flamingoes. Lake Nakuru supports the growth of huge amounts of the blue-green algae attracting a number of birds to the shores of the lake including pink flamingoes painting the waters of the lake pink. From the far off viewing point the

Because of the huge population of birds inhabited in the park, Lake Nakuru national park has been recognized as an important Birding Area,

Just like Lake Bogoria, the alkaline nature of lake Nakuru supports the growth of a huge amount of the blue-green algae (blue-green Cyanophyte Spirulina Platensis).

The Algae attracts thousands of greater and lesser flamingos, painting her water pink. In fact, from the afar off viewing point, the lake looks like it is carpeted in pink.

That’s why it is sometimes called the “Pink Lake,’ or the “bird watchers paradise.

Lake Nakuru Flamingos are undoubtedly it’s a flagship tourist attraction. At times, the population can grow to as high as 1.5 million.

There are two types of flamingos in the lake; the lesser and the greater flamingo. Lesser flamingos are the majority and they dominate most documentaries and web pictures of lake Nakuru.

Although Lake Nakuru Flamingos are classified into lesser and greater Flamingos, their size isn’t much of a distinguishing factor. It’s their different body build that tells them apart.

The lesser flamingos have an extended black shade all over their beaks. On the contrary,  the greater Lake Nakuru flamingos have the black streak only at their beak’s tip.

Also, the lesser flamingos have a darker pink shade on their feathers and in some instances black spots on their wings feather. The greater flamingos, on the other hand, have a fainter shade of pink with feathers of a similar color.

Hint: Pollution threatens the bird population. Therefore, littering into the lake is prohibited. Also, boat rides into the lake are not allowed. But sitting and catching the magnificent view from the shore or from our open roof safari vehicle is just as dreamy.

WILDLIFE AND BIRDLIFE IN LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

Lake Nakuru national park is one of the great wildlife habitats in Kenya hosting about 56 different species of mammals including 4 of the big 5 (lions, rhinos, leopards and cape buffaloes). Animals in Lake Nakuru national park include white rhinos, lions, cheetahs, leopards, buffaloes, elands, waterbucks, hyenas, black and white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, olive bab and rare Rothschild’s giraffe among others.

Lake Nakuru national park is one of the great birding paradises in Kenya famously known for large flocks of pink lesser and grater flamingoes, the park is a home to a recorded 400 bird species including Madagascar Pond-Heron, Lesser Flamingo, Pallid Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle, Grey-crested Helmet-shrike along with large congregations of Greater Flamingo, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Great White Pelican, Yellow-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Black-winged Stilt, Grey-headed Gull and Gull-billed Tern among others.

THE BEST TIME TO VISIT LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

The best time to visit Lake Nakuru national park can be visited all year round, however the best time to get the maximum Kenya safari experience in the park is between the dry seasons June to March. The period of April and May is the wettest months in Lake Nakuru national park, these months should be avoided if you are planning on visiting the park as the roads may become impassable. Too much rain pours also mess up game drive schedules and the grass grows too high making wildlife sighting hard.

THE RHINO SANCTUARY

Lake Nakuru National park hosts one of the biggest rhino sanctuaries in the world, this sanctuary is a 188 kilometers fenced area situated within the park. The Rhino Sanctuary was established to protect the highly endangered black and white rhinos and by 2009, the sanctuary was hosting more than 70 southern white rhinos and about 25 eastern black rhinos and Rothschild’s giraffes.

HISTORY OF LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK AND LAKE NAKURU

Lake Nakuru National Park is under the governance and administration of Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), the park was gazetted in 1968. Initially the park was covering an area of 42 square kilometers, later the area of the park was expanded to 188 square kilometers so as to protect Lake Nakuru as a buffer zone from the development Nakuru city. In 1993, the lake was declared as a rhino sanctuary

Summary of history of Lake Nakuru national park over the years

• 1957 – The park was declared a wildlife conservation area.

• 1961 – 75% of the southern section of the park was declared a bird sanctuary.
• 1968 – The park was gazetted as one of Kenya’s national parks.
• 1977 – Several Rothschild giraffes were reintroduced into Lake Nakuru national park, these giraffes were got from western Kenya.
• 1984 – Lake Nakuru National Park was designated as the first, government of Kenya protected rhino sanctuary.
• 1986 – An electric fence was mounted all around Lake Nakuru national park by the government of Kenya.
• 1987 – Declared a black and white rhino sanctuary.
• 1990 – Lake Nakuru was designated a RAMSAR site.
• 2009 – The park was identified as an Important Birding Area (IBA) with more than 450 bird species.
• 2022 – It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK ENTRANCE FEES 

Lake Nakuru national park entrance fees are drafted by Kenya Wildlife Services according to the category of the tourists that is citizens, residents and non-residents.

Status	Age	Fees
East African citizens	Children/students	860 kshs
	Adults	215 kshs
Foreign residents	Children/students	1,030 kshs
	Adults	515 kshs
Non-foreign residents	Adult	60 US$
	Children	35 US$

Note: Lake Nakuru national park fees are reliable to change any time of the year as per Kenya Wildlife Services.

TOP FIVE THINGS TO DO IN LAKE NAKURU

Game Viewing

Lake Nakuru national park offers some of the fascinating game viewing experiences in Kenya, the park is famously known for hosting the largest population of rhinos (white and black rhinos) and 4 of the big 5. Game viewing in Lake Nakuru national park you will be able to see an abundance of wildlife including lions, leopards, cape buffaloes, rhinos, hippos, Rothschild’s giraffe, warthogs, hyenas among others and several bird species thus read this Lake Nakuru National Park – The Ultimate Guide  .

Bird Watching

Lake Nakuru national park is a birder’s paradise hosting about 450 bird species making it one of the best birding destinations to visit in Kenya for birding tours, bird watching in Lake Nakuru national park offers an opportunity to spot several bird species such as pink lesser and greater flamingoes, Madagascar Pond-Heron, Lesser Flamingo, Pallid Harrier, Greater Spotted Eagle, Grey-crested Helmet-shrike along with large congregations of Greater Flamingo, Black-necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Great White Pelican, Yellow-billed Stork, African Spoonbill, Black-winged Stilt and Grey-headed Gull among others.

 The best spot to view birds in Lake Nakuru national park is from the Baboon Cliff, standing at the top of the Baboon cliff you will be able to get splendid views of Lake Nakuru and its pink carpet created by large flocks of flamingoes.

Camping

Lake Nakuru national park is a great destination for camping experience, the park comprises of Kenya Wildlife Service camps offerings beddings, kitchen and bathroom facilities at a subsidized price. .

Other activities include

• Picnic and photography

Accommodation in Lake Nakuru national park

Lake Nakuru national park has a number of friendly and comfortable accommodation facilities to stay at during your Kenya safari, the accommodation facilities are offered as luxury, midrange and budget.

Luxury lodges

• Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge
• Lake Nakuru Flamingo Hill Tented Camp
• Lake Nakuru Lodge
• Sarova Lion Hill Camp

 Midrange lodges

• Ziwa bush lodges
• Mbweha camp

Budget lodges

• Sleepway cottages