Aberdares National Park Highlights

Aberdares national park has the best night game viewing lodges located in salient parts of the park. Treetops lodge overlooks waterholes and a salt lick in the front yard. This world famous lodge rises straight on stilts and sorely dedicated to game viewing. Another unique lodge in the Aberdares is the Ark Forest lodge. The ark gives you a night passage into the secret wildlife world of the Aberdares national park forest. A raised wooden walkway is the “gangplank” to the ark. The forest spreads out on each side. The game and the public viewing areas make the ark special. You see animals from three different levels and can choose to be indoors or out. A herd of elephant might be just feet away-you can hear and smell and see everything. Or you can sit in warmth and comfort with a cup of tea and look at the animals through big windows.

Day 1: Nairobi – Aberdares National Park

Drive north through large commercial plantations of pineapple, coffee and sisal ascending onto the undulating slopes of the Aberdares ranges. Arrive at the out spans base hotel for lunch (3 hrs-160 km). Transfer to the tree hotel for game watching at the floodlit water hole and dinner.

Rooms are fitted with a buzzer that will wake you whenever a rare animal has been spotted at the water hole e.g. the very rare leopard.

Note: Only a small overnight bag is allowed at the Tree Tops Hotel. The rest of the baggage is stored at the base hotel.
Overnight: Game viewing at your Tree room.

Day 2: Aberdares National Park - Nairobi
After breakfast return to Nairobi before lunch.

Aberdares National Park Highlights
The volcanic massif of the Aberdares Mountains is part of the eastern side of the rift valley. With steep hillsides and thick forests the mountains are in their wild forms. There are streams and waterfalls, magnificent views, and lots of rain. It is frequently cold and misty with moss covered trees dripping with dew even at midday (just like the highlands of United Kingdom). This rich montane park with cool highlands is the home to the rare bongo, trout filled rivers, bamboo forests and sylvan waterfalls. The high altitude (6,000-13,000ft) creates a cool alternative to the typical savannah of most Kenyan Parks and is a recommended addition to your itinerary to experience the Kenyan diversity in attractions. The elevated viewing lodges of historic tree-tops and the newer Ark are the prototypical game lodges that many people think of when they dream about an exotic African safari. The lodge provides one of the rare close ups with elephants and other game at the watering hole from the ground level viewing blinds. These are tunneled as close as 2 meters from the watering hole and a glass overhead globe brings you head to foot with a huge boulder of an elephant. Over 40 species of animas are found here including the lion, rhinos, forest hogs, leopards, colobus, monkeys, elands, bongo, elephants and more than 200 bird species.