Nairobi National Park, the Elephant Nursery and Safari Walk

Just seven kilometres south of the central skyscrapers along Langata Road lies Nairobi National Park, established in 1946 as Kenya's very first national park. Covering 117 square kilometres of whistling-thorn acacia bush, open grass plains, rocky gorges and riverine forest along the Mbagathi River, it is fenced along its northern, eastern and western urban boundaries but remains open to the south into the Kitengela conservation corridor.

Spotting black rhinos, lions and giraffes against the skyline

Despite its compact footprint, Nairobi National Park supports one of the highest densities of critically endangered eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and southern white rhinos in Africa, so successful that the park serves as a breeding sanctuary named Kifaru Ark (Rhino Ark) to restock other Kenyan reserves. Enter at first light through the KWS Main Gate on Langata Road in a 4x4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof. Four out of the "Big Five" live here (lions, leopards, Cape buffaloes and both black and white rhinos; only wild adult elephants are absent from the open park due to its size, though Masai giraffes, plains zebras, elands, impalas, hartebeests and over 500 bird species thrive).

Do not miss three stops inside the park: the Ivory Burning Site Monument, where President Daniel arap Moi set fire to twelve tonnes of confiscated elephant tusks in 1989 in a landmark stand against the global ivory trade; the Hyena Dam and Nagalomon Dam waterholes; and the shaded Hippo Pools and Mokoyiet Valley picnic trails along the southern river gorge.

Booking the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Orphaned Elephant Nursery

Tucked inside a separate woodland enclave of the park accessed via the KWS Central Workshop Gate off Magadi Road, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) Nursery rescues orphaned infant elephants and black rhinos from across Kenya before reintegrating them into the wild in Tsavo. The nursery opens to the public for strictly one hour late each morning to watch the calves race down for their giant milk formulas and splash in the red mud. You must reserve your visiting slot in advance on the official Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website, and every visitor also pays the separate KWS Nairobi National Park conservation entry fee via eCitizen (keep your morning park ticket if you combine a dawn game drive with the late-morning nursery visit on the same day).

The Nairobi Safari Walk

Right beside the KWS Main Gate, the raised timber boardwalks of the Nairobi Safari Walk offer an easy two-hour walking introduction to Kenya's wetlands, savannah and forest habitats, ideal before heading ten minutes west to the Giraffe Centre and Karen.