Aberdare National Park

The Aberdare National Park protects 767 square kilometres of rugged mountain terrain in central Kenya, rising from 2,000 metres on the eastern slopes to the twin peaks of Ol Donyo Lesatima (4,001 m) and Kinangop (3,906 m). The park encompasses a remarkable range of ecosystems stacked by altitude: dense bamboo forest, hagenia-hypericum woodland, and high-altitude moorland carpeted with giant lobelias, tussock grass, and everlasting flowers that give the upper reaches an almost prehistoric appearance. Numerous rivers and streams cascade down the mountainsides, creating spectacular waterfalls including the Karuru Falls (273 metres, the tallest in Kenya), Chania Falls, and Gura Falls.

The Aberdares are best known for their unique tree-lodge experience. The legendary Treetops Lodge, where Princess Elizabeth famously learned of her ascension to the British throne in 1952, pioneered the concept of overnight wildlife viewing from elevated platforms overlooking a floodlit waterhole and salt lick. Today, the Ark Lodge continues this tradition, offering guests the extraordinary experience of watching elephants, buffalo, giant forest hog, bushbuck, and even the elusive bongo antelope visiting the waterhole throughout the night, with a buzzer system to alert sleeping guests to rare nocturnal visitors.

The Aberdare forests shelter a wealth of species adapted to montane environments, including the endangered bongo antelope (one of only two remaining populations in Kenya), black rhino, black leopard (melanistic leopard sightings are reported more frequently here than almost anywhere else in Africa), giant forest hog, bushbuck, and black-and-white colobus monkeys. The birding is outstanding, with over 290 species including mountain buzzard, Hartlaub's turaco, and the endangered Aberdare cisticola. The cool, misty atmosphere and the chance to witness rarely seen forest wildlife make the Aberdares a safari experience unlike any other in Kenya.