Location of National Parks & Game Reserves In Kenya,East Africa

Location of National Parks & Game Reserves In Kenya,East Africa

Location & National Parks, Game Reserves   & Major Cities Information Kenya.

Kenya has many national parks, game reserves and major cities which are attractive to tourists located in strategy areas where they can see mammals, reptiles, flowers, trees, insects, amphibian and species of birds.

Amboseli is fairly small national park of 390 kilometers south of Nairobi, bordering Tanzania. One of the most popular safari parks in Kenya, it provides excellent wildlife viewing throughout the year, stunning landscapes and a good selection of lodges and camps. However, what really sets it apart from other national parks is the spectacular backdrop and Mount Kilimanjaro-the highest mountain in Africa.

Most of the cat species, including leopard,lion,cheetah and caracal, are present in the park and the open plains provide good chances of sightings.Amboseli is also famous for its large herds of buffalo and especially elephants. Bull elephants here have some of the largest tusks ever recorded and have been  the subject of ground breaking work by renowned naturalist Cynthia Moss over the past twenty years.

Amboseli is south east of Nairobi. It can be reached by air, which takes 45 minutes from Nairobi’s Wilson airport or by road which takes about 3 hours 30 minutes.

Lake Nakuru national park covers 188 sq kilometers and is dominated by the shallow waters of the lake at its centre. The lake itself is about 62 sq km and the birdlife is superb, with over 450 species recorded. Lake Nakuru is especially famous for its concentrations of greater and lesser flamingos and pelicans, which at certain times of year number in the millions.

The landscape surrounding the lake is a picturesque combination of savannah, marshes and woodland which supports a good variety of wildlife. The climbing lions, buffalo, waterbuck, Burchells Zebra, hippo, baboons, Impala and Rothschild’s giraffe can all be seen, and Nakuru is recognized as one of the best places in the country for daytime leopard sightings. The national park is also one of Kenya’s rhino sanctuaries, with good numbers of breeding white and black rhino.

Lake Nakuru national park is 2 hours drive north of Nairobi, and is accessible using 2-wheel-drive vehicles. A leisurely drive around the lake takes about 3 hours.

Probably the most famous of the reserves, the Masai Mara, In Kenya’s south western corner, boasts an astonishing amount of game, Unfenced ,the Mara is bounded in the east by the Ngama Hills and in the west by the Oloololo or Siria Escarpment.Gazelle,wildebeest and zebra graze in large numbers and where prey is found so are predators. Not only is this a great place in which to find game, but the wide greeny-gold savannahs spotted with thorn trees make it ideal for photography .The Mara,as it is known in Kenya, is ravishingly beautiful and also offers long, undisturbed views and utterly dramatic panoramas. The weather really means something here. The sun may beat down unforgiving, huge clouds in fabulous shapes may sweep across the widest of skies; the wind ripples the grasses as though they are stroked by a giant hand. The landscape is stunning.

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The famously black-manned Mara lions are possibly the stars of the Mara show, but cheetah, elephant, kongoni, topi, Thompson’s gazelle, waterbuck, hyena, and primates are all here too. As with the rest of Kenya, the birding is good. There is no settlement within the reserve however: the Mara is in theory owned by Masai, pastoralists and, in earlier times, rewowned lion-killers. Lodges and hotels offer the opportunity to buy their headwork, checked cloths and copies of their spears. It is said that if a lions scent approaching Masai on the breeze they move swiftly in the opposite direction.

Famously, the Mara is the northerly end of the Great Migration, that great primeval surge of wildebeest, Zebra and antelope that sweeps in from Tanzanians Serengeti to Kenya’s Masai Mara as the Tanzanian grass starts to fail. They are tracked by the large predators who pick off the weak, the stragglers and the young. The great herds, nearing their destination by July, mass along the Mara River ,pushing ,shoving and fantastically noisy, just waiting for the first animal to cross so that they can all follow, lemming-like, on the final leg of the journey.However,crocodiles lie in wait, sluggishly cruising the waters, fully prepared for their best meal of the year. Many fail in the life-and-death struggle-drowned, eaten by crocodiles or, made careless or weak by their stressful swim, brought down by lions. The Masai Mara is terrible yet wonderful, and not to be missed.

It is impossible to believe that just over 100 years ago the only visitors to the area which is now Nairobi were the Maasai tribe, who used to water their cattle at “boggy waterhole”. They called it Enkare Nyarobi-literally ‘the place of cold water’. In the dying years of the 19th century as the Uganda railway forged its way through Kenya, the area became a railhead for the assault on the eastern wall of the escarpment .Because of the swampy surroundings, the railway workers camps rapidly turned into a shanty town, inhabited by rats which brought the plague, and it is doubtful if anyone could envisage that one day this would become the ‘City in the sun’

Between the 1903 and 1908 potential settlers arrived in Kenya responding to the promise of cheap agricultural land (which did not strictly belong to the government to give away) and many wealthy sportsmen arrived to hunt the game. Hotels sprang up to cater for the visitors and the base for the valuable tourist industry was laid during those early years.

In 1950 Nairobi became a City by Royal Charter, the streets ablaze with flowering trees and shrubs and to this day the flowering jacaranda trees in the later months of the year are one of Nairobi’s great attractions.

Nairobi in now a city of around 3 million people and the heart of the commerce and industry for the whole of East Africa. Over the years the city has developed with modern infrastructure, the expected high rise buildings, tourist hotels and many places of entertainment .Additionally Nairobi has a near perfect climate, lying 144 km south of the equator at an altitude of 5451ft (166m) and 494 km from the shores of the Indian Ocean. The city has maintained its cosmopolitan ambience which is apparent, not only in the different races and communities who work in and around the city, but also in the architecture and variety of religious buildings, churches, temples, mosques, synagogues.

 The range of attractions and places to visit are amazing. A typical day could perhaps start with a tour of the city; including visits to the excellent Railway Museum with its records of the history of the railway (which is also the history of the country).Here visitors may see the carriage from which an unfortunate superintendent for the Railway was dragged by a man-eating lion in the year 1900.

The National Museum of Kenya has fine exhibits of East Africa fauna, birds, fish and reptiles as well as collection of cultural merit. An organized tour may also include visits to the City Hall and Law Courts, the bazaars and bazaars and the markets with their colorful displays of locally grown fruit and flowers as well as handicrafts and many different centres of worship, including the spectacular Jamia Mosque. A visit should be paid to the Memorial Park, created in Memory of the many victims of the inhumane bombing of the American Embassy and nearby buildings on 7August 1998.This is the only city in the world which has a National Park on its doorstep, and within a short drive visitors enter completely a different world-the Nairobi National Park.Lion, Cheetah, buffalo and rhino as well as more common plains game like gazelles, Zebra, ostritch and giraffe live within the park.

Many will have heard of the film’ Out of Africa’ which starred Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen and Robert Redford as her lover, Denys Finch Hatton. The well developed suburb of Karen takes its name from the author; any visit to this area should include a visit to her old home set in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills’.

A short distance away, the Giraffe Centre, where the history of the endangered Rothschild Giraffe (which include the famous “Daisy Rothschild”) can be studied and the descendants of the family can be fed, will also appeal.

A morning visit can be paid to the famous Daphine Sheldrake orphans, tiny elephant.rhinoi and occasionally a kudu which have been rescued from the wilds and are brought up until they are capable of returning to the bush.

Within the environs of Nairobi there are several excellent golf courses (one running alongside the main highway opposite the city centre): a proliferation of social clubs offering facilities for cricket, tennis, field hockey, squash, rugby and swimming and a popular race course set alongside the indigenous forest.

The unique and popular Carnivore spit roast complex on the edge of the game park offers game meat as a speciality,in addition to the more normal roasts expected by dedicated meat-eaters.

As a ‘Safari Capital’ of East Africa, Nairobi has more than enough to entertain any visitor for several days, either before or after their planned safari.

 

Anthony  Mmeri is the Editor and Tours Director at Wings Over Africa Safaris. 
This is a Tour & Safari   Company that specializes on Scenic Safaris, Filming Safaris, Golfing Safaris, Sight Seeing Safaris, Mountain Climbing Safaris, Aerial Survey & Photography Safaris, Birding Safaris, Chimpanzee Safaris & Gorilla Safaris East Africa. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http:// / www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/services/tourist-flights.html

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Famous Five National Parks of India

Famous Five National Parks of India

The natural wealth of the Indian forests has always remained unique, mysterious and fascinating for the wildlife enthusiasts. No region on this planet exists that can compete India in terms of its rich vegetation and wildlife. India is indeed a wonder-world, with more than 80 National Parks, 441 Wildlife Sanctuaries and 23 Tiger Reserves. To know more about the diversity of its habitats and wildlife, make a tour to any of the National park or the Wildlife Sanctuary in the country and you will yourself get the evidence of its wealthiness. Each sanctuary supports several species of wildlife, but is essentially known for one particular species. In most of the cases these are rare or even endangered species. Some of the best jewels of the Indian wilderness include Corbett National Park in Uttar Pradesh, Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, Sundarbans National Park in West Bengal, Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh , and Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

Come to Corbett National Park where the thrill and adventure awaits you at every corner. It’s a wonderful experience to spend a day in the Corbett National Park. Varied topography and vegetation gives park a rich diversity in its habitats and natural beauty. The enticing Ramganga River, silent valleys, rolling grasslands provides excellent view to the tourists. Mixed deciduous forests with 110 varieties of tress, 51 species of shrubs and over 33 kinds of bamboos and grasses forms the exotic flora of the park. It is the first park where “Project Tiger” was launched in 1973. Apart from tigers, Corbett is a home to variety of animal and bird species. Some of the commonly sighted species in the park includes hog, deer, sambar, chital, barking deer, wild boar, Himalayan black bear, sloth bear etc. The bird population of the Corbett includes resident species like darters, cormorants, herons, and the black necked stork.

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Check out the Ranthambore National Park, located in the state of Rajasthan. Inside the park you will find the fascinating blend of history and nature. The ruins of the picturesque fort built in the 10th century along with the lake palaces, ‘chhatris’ and old fortifications makes Ranthambore a Heritage Site. It is popular as the haunting ground of Maharaja of Jaipur. Ranthambore National Park is the finest example of Project Tigers efforts at conservation in India. You can go for the jeep safari inside the park spotting the tigers, Antelopes, Nilgai, Sambhar and Chitals. The lakes and water holes in the park are the highlighted with the lotus and water lilies. Than the Ranthambore also boosts of the seizable population of both resident and migratory species.

A real fun, should definitely combine lot of thrill, adventure and exploration. And when it comes to adventure, Sundarban is always at the top of the top of list. The Sundarbans delta is the largest mangrove forest in the world. Sundarbans National Park is the adventure destination especially for those who love to see wild animals in their natural habitats. The exotic jeep safari amidst the mangroves searching for the tigers or the herds of the spotted deer is the highlight of any visit to Sundarbans National Park. It is considered as the best eco parks in the country with the complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt tolerant mangrove forests. It is home to the large population of Tigers as well as to a number wild animals like spotted deer, monkeys, wild boars, little porpoise, Indian fox, common gray mongoose and many more. Sundarbans is the breeding ground of immense variety of birds like heron, egret, cormorant, fishing engle, seagul etc.

For the wildlife savvy, Kanha National Park, offers an intense diversity of flora and fauna. Tigers the – jungle’s pride makes it one of the best places in the country to observe them. It is the largest of the original Tiger Reserves in India. The park is mainly noted for its local herd of swamp deer. Lush sal and bamboo forests along with rich wildlife treasure makes it one of the interesting parks in the country. The most famous attraction of the park is Bamni Dadar, popularly known as the sunset point that offers the most awe-inspiring backdrop of the sunset against grazing Sambhars and Gaurs, magnifying the natural splendor of the area. It is considered as one of the most well maintained parks in the country.

Kaziranga National Park is popularly known as the land of Rhinos and is counted among the best National Parks in the country. Aside from the wide population of the rhinos, the frequent sightseeing of the tigers roaming in the wild remains the most popular draw. It gives the tourists the opportunity to stroll through the lush coffee and rubber plantations of the nearby Karbi Anglong. One can leave for the early hours elephant safari and indulge in wildlife photography. Han the tourists also have the opportunity to visit the Kabri villages, meet the Kabri people and observe the way if living. If you want film shows on wildlife can be arranged at your tourists lodge, on request.

Travelling is My Forte and penning them down is my hobby.

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