Aberdare National Park is a beautiful protected conservation area in central Kenya, it is angelically placed along the mountain slopes of the Aberdare ranges a part of the East African rift valley, the park is one of the most scenic areas home to the so-called Big Five of the wilderness (lions, leopards, buffaloes, Rhinos and elephants), it hosts the second largest population of black Rhinos, the national park covers an area space of approximately 766 square kilometres and was established in 1950, within it is a stretch of volcanic rock of 160 kilometres. The park is one beautiful hiking destination in Kenya.
Aberdare National Park comprises a variety of landscapes from mountains, valleys, rivers, grasslands, moorlands, bamboo forests and tropical rain forests, the lower parts of the conservation area offer great experiences on your Kenyan safaris, the region rose to fame in 1952, it is during this time when Princess Elizabeth became Queen of England after the death of her father king George the sixth, she was in Kenya at a time and staying at one of the luxurious facilities tree tops hotel. It is home to abundant wildlife species including black and white colobus monkeys, spotted hyenas, leopards, olive baboons, buffaloes, warthogs, bushbucks, African wild cats, wildebeest, golden cats, blue duiker to mention a few, over 350 species of birds have been recorded to date like the African harrier hawks, sunbirds, pelicans, hornbills, eagles, to mention few,
The largest feature of the Aberdare ranges is the largest feature of the ecosystem it spans three counties, Nyandarua, Nyeri, and Kiambo counties, it is a branch of the eastern part of the Great Rift Valley region, it is elevated to 4,001 meters above sea level. The mountain holds a significant importance to the Kikuyu people, it is considered a scared place of respect to them, the mountain range is a water catchment area for the dams of Sasumu and Ndakaini that supply water to Nairobi. The amazing Sceneries the waterfalls are great to explore for example the Karuru waterfalls, Chania waterfalls, Gura giant waterfalls, Mugura waterfalls.
Things to do in Aberdare ranges include game drives these are conducted in the open wide ecosystem accompanied by an experienced guide you will experience remarkable views of wildlife species, the drives last for 2-3 hours through the well distributed trails of the national park, expect to see buffaloes, lions, leopards, waterbucks, bush bucks, antelopes. These are conducted in sessions in the morning, afternoon and evening time. The most recommendable time to go on game drives is during the morning time at 6:00 am when animals are more active.
Hiking the Aberdare mountain range, this will lead you to the amazing parts of the conservation area the highest summit sits at 4001meters above sea level and is known as MountainSatima, the beautiful waterfalls are not to miss, the lush green growing vegetation and a few wildlife species.
Visit the sweet waters chimpanzee sanctuary, it is a non-profit organization which was introduced by Jane Goodall, this introduces you to the chimpanzee communities in the Ewaso Ngiro River. Visit the Kikuyu villages, this traditional village features the kikuyu traditional dancers perfectly reflecting their way of life.
Aberdare national park can be accessed all year round but best during the dry season between the months of December-February and June- August, the trails of the park are much drier, the grasses during this time tend to be thinner and easy to see wildlife species in the park, in the dry season you don’t have to deal much with mosquitoes because of less stagnant water. The rainy season is not the most ideal time to the park although it is possible to reach out to the national park.
How to reach Aberdare national park can be by road or directly flying to the destination, it takes approximately 166 kilometers from Nairobi the best routing is passing via Lake Naivasha. By air domestic flights can be arranged on charter or scheduled to land at the nearest airstrip.
In conclusion, there is available accommodation in the park ranging from the best budget facility to luxury, example type includes the Treetop hotel, the ark lodge, Aberdare country club, Aberdare fishing lodge among others.