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Nairobi Holidays, Hotels & Travel Guide
Travel guide to hotels & holidays in Nairobi
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Nairobi Holidays Overview
A guide to holidays in Nairobi - Nairobi is best characterised by the variety of
locally-given descriptive names, representative of the city's
contrasting images - of wealthy spacious suburbs, charming
flower-lined streets and a refreshing climate, alongside crime,
corruption, filth and poverty. Names like 'Green City in the Sun',
'City of Flowers' and the Masai name 'Place of Cool Waters' attempt
to overshadow the all too real version of 'Nairobbery' that stands
as a well-found warning to newly arrived tourists.
Nairobi is one of Africa's largest and most interesting
cities. It is a place of enormous energy, a tireless and thriving
bustle of people, and a city of differences. Assorted races, tribes
and origins are all a part of its make-up. Rural immigrants and
refugees are drawn by the hope of wealth and opportunity,
international businessmen are attracted by profitable business
prospects, and tourists are promised the makings of the perfect
safari. The city centre buzzes with the energy, aspirations and
opportunism of moneychangers, safari touts, would-be thieves, food
vendors and trinket sellers, prostitutes, shoppers, security
guards, and sharp-eyed shoe shiners assessing the footwear of the
hurried throngs. Among them are the disillusioned faces of the
unemployed, the beggars and the destitute.
Kenyatta Avenue is the city's favourite tourist image, a
broad avenue fringed by trees and flowers that was originally
designed to allow a twelve-oxen team to make a full turn. There are
several museums and places of interest in the centre, including the
National Museum and Snake Park. There are numerous markets selling
traditional crafts, especially the appealing Masai market. Just
outside of the centre is the Nairobi National Park, and the nearby
Bomas of Kenya host performances of traditional dancing and
singing. The Langata Giraffe Centre offers visitors the chance to
hand-feed the Rothschild giraffes who inhabit the area.
Nairobi is also the safari capital of Africa and a good
base for travel in Kenya. From here excursions and safaris can be
arranged to any of the national parks or reserves in the
country.
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Nairobi
holidays - Top Places To Go
1. Nairobi National Park and Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
www.kws.org |
What is it? Nairobi National Park was established in 1945
and is Kenya's first national park. Uniquely situated on the
capital's doorstep it is a well-kept, compact and beautiful area of
plains and wild bush containing a large number of Africa's
best-known animals. Large herds of zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and
giraffe roam the plains and black rhino, ostrich, baboons, cheetah
and lions are some of the other photogenic inhabitants. In the park
is the Animal Orphanage where sick, wounded and abandoned animals
are cared for and rehabilitated into the park, as well as an
Educational Centre featuring a Safari Walk. Close by is the
Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, where infant elephant and rhino
(orphaned because of poaching activities) are cared for and
eventually returned to the wild in Tsavo National Park. The centre
is open every morning and visitors can watch the calves bathing in
the mud hole and being bottle fed by their human surrogate
mothers.
Hours of Operation:
Phone:602 121 |
2. Amboseli National Park
www.kws.org |
What is it? Amboseli is a park of giants, renowned for
its herds of mighty tusked elephants presided over by the
magnificent backdrop of Africa's highest mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro.
One of Africa's most unforgettable images is the picture of these
large creatures standing in silent tribute before the gigantic
snow-covered mountain just over the border in neighbouring
Tanzania. It is a relatively small park with wide plains merging
with the distant skyline, affording good visibility in all
directions. Observation Hill rises from the centre for breathtaking
views over the park and towards Mt Kilimanjaro, especially in the
pink light of dawn. Meaning 'Place of Water' in the Masai language,
it has a continuous supply from Kilimanjaro's snowmelt, forming
underground springs that feed the marshy patches and swamps home to
hippos and a great variety of bird life. Predators are relatively
scarce apart from jackal and hyena, but there are large numbers of
grazers such as wildebeest, zebra and gazelles on the grassy plains
and giraffe among the thorn trees. A popular way to take in the
scenery is by way of a noiseless microlight flight, either from
Nairobi or the Amboseli airstrip. There is a wide range of
accommodation in and around the outskirts of the park for those
wanting to extend the experience.
Hours of Operation: Daily from 6am to 6.30pm
Phone:456 222 51 |
3. Mount Kenya National Park
www.mck.or.ke |
What is it? This national park encompasses Africa's
second highest mountain, Mt Kenya, an extinct volcano with a series
of jagged snow-covered peaks. The local Kikuyu people revere the
mountain they call Kirinvaga or 'Place of Light' as the home of
their Supreme Being, Ngai, and traditionally Kikuyu homes are built
to face the sacred summit. Part of the mountain's attraction is the
incredible variation in flora and fauna due to the changes in
altitude and its position on the equator. The slopes are covered in
thick forest, home to a variety of animals including the black
leopard. Bamboo, moorland and alpine vegetation give way to rock,
ice and one of the world's rarest sights - equatorial snow. The
summit is a technical climb, but Point Lenana is a popular
trekkers' objective, the third highest peak that can be reached by
a number of different scenic routes, lasting from three to five
days. For those not wishing to climb the mountain the park offers a
pristine wilderness, lakes and glaciers and is good for game
viewing and hiking.
Hours of Operation:
Phone:061 556 45 |
Nairobi
holidays - Top Events
1. KCB Safari Rally
From 2007-03-09
To 2007-03-11
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What is it? The eyes of motorsports enthusiasts around
the world focus on Nairobi for two days each year when the world's
greatest rally drivers roar out of the city to take on the dusty,
hot Rift Valley in a trial that has become known as the 'car
breaker' of the rally season. The Safari Rally is the eighth event
on the annual World Rally Championship calendar. Enthusiastic
crowds in the streets of the city celebrate the beginning and end
of the rally. For more information contact the Kenya Tourist Board
on (0)2 724 042/4 or info@kenyatourism.org
Where is it? Safari Park Hotel, Thika Road Nairobi |
2. Crafts of Africa
From 2006-11-22
To 2006-11-26
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What is it? African artistic treasures are exhibited in
the Crafts of Africa show in Nairobi each Christmas season,
attracting about 20,000 visitors during the week. A huge range of
arts and crafts are on display and for sale, from wood carvings and
leather work to blown glass, gourds and tie-dyed
clothing.
Where is it? Sarit Centre |
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