Nairobi National Park

Nairobi National Park is one of Africa's most extraordinary conservation achievements and one of the world's great wildlife anomalies — a 117-square-kilometre national park harbouring authentic wildlife populations including lion, leopard, cheetah, black rhino, buffalo, hippopotamus, giraffe, and zebra, situated just 7 kilometres from the centre of one of Africa's largest and fastest-growing cities. The park's iconic image — a lion lounging against the backdrop of Nairobi's glittering skyline — has become one of the most recognisable symbols of Kenya's wildlife heritage and of the profound challenge of protecting wild spaces in a rapidly urbanising world. The park is fenced on three sides, with its southern boundary remaining open to allow wildlife to migrate onto the Athi-Kapiti plains — a remaining wildlife corridor of critical importance that is itself under increasing pressure from development. Established in 1946 as Kenya's first national park, Nairobi National Park continues to serve as a refuge for wildlife and as an incomparably accessible introduction to East African safari for transit visitors, business travellers, and residents of the city. The adjacent Nairobi Animal Orphanage and Safari Walk provide additional wildlife viewing and conservation education experiences.