Safari is the Swahili word for “Journey” and Kenya is where it all began. Kenya has much to offer with its snow-capped mountains and Great Rift Valley, porcelain white beaches, golden deserts and tropical rain forests, beautiful lakes and expansive savannahs that possess a seemingly unending quantity and variety of wildlife. Few destinations in the world can evoke such powerful imagery as Kenya, one of Africa’s premier safari destinations.

Kenya is well known for its migration of more than one million Wildebeest and Zebra crossing the Masai Mara. As a safari adventurer, this is one of the most spectacular wilderness shows on earth. These animals make the never-ending journey of over 1,800 miles, a pilgrimage in constant pursuit of life-supporting rains and greener pastures. Close on their heels, lion, hyena, cheetah and other opportunistic predators lie in wait to pounce on this blanket of moving prey, including the sly old crocodile lying expectantly for the herds to cross the rivers.

Kenya offers a wide array of game viewing opportunities with 24 National Parks and Reserves to choose from. The Masai Mara National Park is most popular due to the large concentrations of game. However, if you are seeking a more private experience, the Laikipia Reserve may be the place for you. Laikipia is off the beaten path, north of the Aberdares Mountains and northwest of Mount Kenya. It is primarily comprised of conservation ranches, developed to protect the wildlife and traditional cultures of its people, as Kenya is home to over forty tribal groups. With spectacularly beautiful settings and a dense population of wildlife and birdlife, it is an ideal location for guided walking safaris or game drives.

The country is an ornithologist’s paradise with over 1000 species of birds. The Rift Valley stretches some 2,500 miles from the Red Sea to the Zambezi River. It is one of the most distinctive ruptures on the Earth’s surface and can be seen from the moon. The Rift Valley is also where the oldest remains of early man have been discovered. There are six lakes in this region where the greater and lesser flamingos migrate in vast numbers. The lake’s abundance of algae attracts birds that famously line the shore. Lake Nakuru is the single most important foraging site for the lesser flamingo anywhere, and a major nesting and breeding ground for great white pelicans. Many other globally threatened bird species and some of the highest bird diversities in the world can be found here as well. Ornithologists have described this region as the greatest bird spectacle in the world.

Climate in Kenya

Kenya lies on the equator and has a pleasant tropical climate with daytime temperatures averaging between 20°C/68°F and 28°C/82°F. Kenya is too close to the equator to experience a real winter and summer so temperatures vary little between the seasons.

Suggested Kenya Safari Activities

• Witness the spectacle of the annual wildebeest migration on the great plains of the Masai Mara
• Ride your way across the Masaai Mara on horseback
• View large herds of Elephant up close in the Amboseli National Park
• Climb Kenya’s highest mountain, Mount Kenya
• Take a game drive through Meru National Park and see its great diversity of wildlife
• Visit the site where the oldest remains of early man have been discovered
• Bask in the sun and walk the beautiful white sand beaches of Kenya’s Coastal region
• Visit a Masaai village and learn about their fascinating culture
• Journey to Kenya’s Rift Valley Lakes and experience the long-legged, long-necked pink flamingos in the thousands
• Walk with the camels through the pristine wilderness of the Laikipia Plateau to see African’s wildlife up close