Reviews of Lake Nakuru (From 12 Acclaimed Safari Experts)

Expert

Lizzie Williams –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Lizzie is a reputed guidebook writer and author of the Footprint guides to South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

26 people found this review helpful.

Rewarding game-viewing, even on a short visit, combined with great lake views

Overall rating

4/5

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Lake Nakuru’s compactness and varied landscapes are instantly likeable, and it’s ideal for first-time safari-goers and families (even with small children). On my last visit, waterbuck, impala, buffalo and Rothschild's giraffe were right on the roadside, and I’ve often spotted leopard lounging (unusually) during daylight in the giant yellowwood acacia, and in the southern flat area, lions stretching out in the sun and the odd rhino taking a stroll on the lakeshore. The lake itself though has recently changed considerably; once dominantly a soda lake that famously attracted thousands of flamingos, heavy rains and floods in the Rift Valley since 2012 have swelled it to such an extent that some of the game-driving tracks and campsites have been submerged (even Main Gate has moved to higher ground). But while Lake Nakuru’s environmental character has altered a little (and the flamingos have largely flocked elsewhere), thanks to more fresh water, animal numbers are flourishing and are easily-seen. It certainly won’t be wild enough for some, but is easy to navigate and a game-viewing circuit only takes about three hours – even by taxi or on a game drive booked at the gate. My top tip is to take a picnic and admire the new shapes and colours of the lake from the lookout at Baboon Cliffs.

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Ariadne van Zandbergen –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Ariadne is a renowned African wildlife photographer whose work is featured in many well-known guidebooks and magazines.

20 people found this review helpful.

Flamingos, Rhinos and Big Cats

Overall rating

4/5

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Lake Nakuru National Park is mostly associated with big flocks of flamingos. Depending on your expectations, this can easily lead to disappointment. You’ll always find some flamingos here, but the numbers vary greatly depending on the water levels and algae availability. However, the lake always teems with birdlife and the big groups of pelicans are also incredible to watch.

Flamingos aside, the wildlife viewing tends to be very good. On our last visit, we had seen four of the Big Five within 24 hours (there are no elephants) and much more. We saw the same beautiful male leopard on every drive (trying to catch rats on the road), an exciting but heartbreaking scene of lions hunting a new-born buffalo calf, and a three-way standoff between black rhinos, a white rhino and a few buffalo bulls all fancying the same shady spot under an acacia tree. Last but not least we can confirm that lions still love climbing trees here. We stayed in the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Naishi self-catering guesthouse and saw a huge buffalo herd coming to drink at our private water hole while barbecuing. It really felt like we were the only people in one of Kenya’s most popular parks. What a privilege!

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Expert

Philip Briggs –

ZA

Visited: Multiple times

Philip is an acclaimed travel writer and author of many guidebooks, including the Bradt guides to Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.

10 people found this review helpful.

Lake Of Birds And Land Of Rhinos

Overall rating

4/5

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This smallish park, one of the few in Kenya that’s fenced in its entirety, may be a little lacking in wilderness character, but it has traditionally been included on a high proportion of safari itineraries for two main reasons: flamingos and rhinos. Historically, the more important of these attractions is the million-strong aggregations of flamingo that often frequent Lake Nakuru’s shallows. However, this is an erratic phenomenon, and strongly dependent on the water level and alkalinity being suited to the algae upon which the birds feed, for which reason flamingo numbers have generally been very low since 2019. Fortunately, Nakuru still supports exceptionally high densities of both species of rhino, which have been introduced here because it is relatively easy to monitor for poachers. The larger and more peaceable white rhino is probably seen here more easily than it is in any other East African national park; good places to look for it include the southeastern lake floodplain around Rhino Point and areas of open savannah in the park’s far south. The smaller, crankier and more secretive black rhino tends to stick to thick acacia woodland, where it is quite common, but often challenging to locate. Other wildlife likely to be seen in Lake Nakuru National Park includes the localised Rothschild’s giraffe, and plentiful buffalo, zebra and waterbuck. On our most recent visit, in 2024, we had several excellent sightings of leopards and tree-climbing lions around Rhino Point. And even without flamingos, this small national park – listed as a Ramsar wetland and Important Bird Area – supports a remarkably diverse and exciting avifauna, with impressive flocks of great white pelican the stars of a bird checklist that includes more than 450 species.

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Expert

Anthony Ham –

AU

Visited: Multiple times

Anthony is a photographer and writer for travel magazines and Lonely Planet, including the guides to Kenya and Botswana & Namibia.

6 people found this review helpful.

Lake Nakuru: Flamingos and the Big Four

Overall rating

4/5

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Lake Nakuru has some pretty hard-to-resist attractions. For a start, it’s compact, easy to get around and it’s really rather pretty with its yellow-trunked fever (acacia) trees, beautiful lake and deep shades of green; no wonder they filmed part of the plane-flight scene from ‘Out of Africa’ here. It’s also one of the best places in Kenya to see black and white rhino (although you’ll be lucky to see them out and about before late morning), as well as Rothschild’s giraffes (they’re the ones with no markings below the knees). I’ve always been lucky here with lions and leopards, although I’ve never seen the lions up trees as other travelers have reported. And then there are the flamingos: yes, they’re returning to the park, although the great, massed flocks still belong to the past. And the park isn’t perfect. You can’t, for example, see elephants here – the park is simply too small to accommodate them safely. And much as I hate to say it, the sound of traffic and of people chopping wood can often be heard here and it always takes the edge off what is otherwise a wonderful park experience.

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Christopher Clark –

UK

Visited: Multiple times

Christopher is a British travel writer and has contributed to various Fodor's guidebooks and a range of travel magazines.

3 people found this review helpful.

Kenya’s flamingo and rhino capital

Overall rating

4/5

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It’s less than an hour’s drive from Nakuru city centre to Lake Nakuru National Park and less than three hours from Nairobi.

The park’s main attractions are the thousands and sometimes millions of lesser flamingos that nest along its shores and strong populations of both white and black rhino, which have both been rehabilitated here. This has necessitated a fence around the entire park to help prevent poaching, and this undoubtedly takes something away from the natural feel of the place.

Rothschild giraffe were also relocated here from the west of the country back in the late 1970s and lion, leopard and cheetah are all here too, though my experience tells me that sightings are infrequent.

As with all of the Rift Valley’s soda lakes, though the flamingoes tend to steal the show, there are myriad other interesting bird species to be found.

3 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No

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Emma Gregg –

UK

Visited: December

Emma is an award-winning travel writer for Rough Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Travel Africa magazine and The Independent.

3 people found this review helpful.

One of Kenya’s flagship parks, famous for its flamingoes

Overall rating

4/5

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It’s now many years since the gigantic flocks of flamingoes which used to grace Lake Nakuru began to diminish in number, thanks to a change in the chemical makeup of the water. Even so, the image of that shimmering vision in pink remains a Kenyan icon, and it’s rare for the flocks to be absent altogether. When I visited, there was a healthy number of lesser flamingoes gracing the water, along with crowds of pelicans.

There’s more to the park than the lake – acacia woodland surrounds the water, and it’s easy to drive around looking for rhinos, giraffes and baboons. I saw a good number of waterbuck at unusually close range – the park is an excellent place to watch them as vehicles don’t seem to disturb them unduly. Just as well, as there are always plenty of vehicles here – the park is right next to the busy town of Nakuru, and very accessible.

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Alan Murphy –

AU

Visited: June

Alan is a travel writer and author of over 20 Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guides to Southern Africa and Zambia & Malawi.

2 people found this review helpful.

A Feel-Good Park With Spectacular Scenery

Overall rating

4/5

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Some parks just make you feel good when you are on safari – in Lake Nakuru NP, the animals almost look as if they’re smiling… It’s no wonder the park is so popular, with its dramatic Rift Valley views, rich wildlife population (four of the Big 5 – no elephants) and variety of birdlife, including great flocks of pelicans and sometimes flamingos. The habitat here is really varied (woodland, savannah, mountains, the lakeshore), which makes cruising around on a safari all the more interesting. And even better is that you have a great chance of spotting rhino – or so I’m told (I’ve never seen any).

I was lucky enough to see the famed tree-climbing lions though, one with its head poking out the top of a squat acacia and the other crouched on a lower branch. Who says lions don’t climb trees? Here they do!

The flamingos used to be a big drawcard of this park. Most departed for richer feeding grounds a few years ago due to rising water levels, but small flocks are still quite often seen here. Apart from flamingos, the lakeshore is a rich repository of other birdlife, and birders have hundreds of different species to discover.

This is a park I would definitely spend more time in and I recommend a couple of days here at least.

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