“Majestic Peaks, Moorlands and Intriguing Falls” Picturesque, steep forested ravines, and open moorland characterize the Aberdare National Park Kenya. The park provides a habitat for elephants, black rhinos, leopards, spotted hyenas, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, buffalo, warthogs, and bushbucks among others. Rare sightings include those of the Giant Forest hog, bongo, golden cat, Serval cat, African wild cat, African civet cat, and the blue duiker. Visitors can indulge in picnics, trout fishing in the rivers, and camping in the moorlands. Bird viewing is rewarding, with over 250 species of birds in the park, including the Jackson’s Francolin, Sparrow hawks, goshawks, eagles, sunbirds, and plovers.Aberdare National Park or Reserve is a high altitude reserve that was created to protect the moorland and slopes of the Aberdare Mountains. The park is an ideal location for viewing Kenya’s birds and animals as well as for typography enthusiasts.

Its topography ranges from high peaks, hills, and moorlands to indigenous streams, ravines, waterfalls, and forests that you can enjoy. Due to its favorable altitude, the reserve is quite misty and rainy, with roads that become almost impassable during the rainy season.

The Rhino Ark, a charitable organization dedicated to the protection of wildlife and parks, and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), a state corporation that was established to manage and conserve Kenya’s wildlife, run the park.

Aberdares Kenya is home to the 2^nd largest herd of rare Black Rhinos. You can also view many animals here including Lions, Black Leopards, Elephants, as well as the elusive Bongo Antelope.

Additionally, two of the nation’s best Safari Lodges are situated in this park: The Ark and Treetops. Both offer amazing wildlife viewing during the night over the drinking hole.

Bird species in Aberdare national park Kenya include Aberdare cisticola, Abyssinian Crimson, African goshawk, African green pigeon, African paradise flycatcher, African yellow warbler, augur buzzard, Ayres’s hawk-eagle, bar-tailed trogon, bronzy sunbird, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, crowned eagle, Doherty’s bush-shrike.

Wildlife present in the protected area includes lion, leopard, elephant, East African wild dog, giant forest hog, bushbuck, mountain reedbuck, waterbuck, Cape buffalo, Suni, side-striped jackal, eland, duiker, olive baboon, black and white colobus monkey, and Sykes monkey.

Size of Aberdare national park

Established in May 1950, the Aberdare National Park covers an area of 766 square kilometers and forms part of the Aberdare Mountain Range

Location of Aberdare national park

The Aberdare National Park is a protected area in the Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya located east of the East African Rift Valley. It covers the higher areas and the Aberdare Salient to the east.

How to get to Aberdare national park

By Road

Aberdare Kenya is only 99 miles (160km) from Nairobi. On the eastern side, there is a smooth tarmac road from Naro Moru and Nyeri towns. However, the best route runs from the towns of Naivasha and Nyahururu.

Gates are located at Treetops, Ark, Ruhuruina, Wandare, and Kiandongoro if you are coming from Nyeri. If you approach the park from Nyahururu, you should use the Shamata or Rhino Gate. Mutubio gate is perfect for visitors coming from Naivasha.

By Air

There are 2 airstrips for chartered crafts at Mweiga and Nanyuki, next to the Aberdare National Park Kenya.

Things to do in Aberdare national park

Aberdare National Park and experience something unique while on vacation in Africa. The park offers a wide range of attractions that are worth exploring right from luxuriant forests, mountains, wildlife, and landscape to distinct bird species. Visitors on safari to this national park have a chance to participate in bird watching, trout fishing, climbing adventures to the twin hills, elephant hills, and the Table Mountains; nocturnal wildlife viewing, view the stunning Lesatima and Kinangop peaks, or walk via the moorland and pay a visit to the remarkable waterfalls

When to visit Aberdare national park

Considered more of a year-round safari destination than some of the other parks, Aberdare is mountainous and can experience mist and rain throughout the year. The drier months of January and February and from June to September are usually the best times to visit with the most rewarding game viewing.

Where to stay in Aberdare National Park

The Ark Tree Lodge – The Ark Tree Lodge overlooks one of the largest salt-licks and waterholes in the Aberdare Mountains where you can see a variety of forest games unlike anywhere else in Africa. The lodge is built in the shape of an Ark and offers accommodation in en-suite rooms. The waterhole is floodlit so you can view wildlife at night.

Aberdare Country Club is nestled on a slope of Mweiga Hill in the Aberdare Highlands, part of the Great Rift Valley. Considered a heritage property in Kenya, The Aberdare Country Club has retained the charm of a private home with the simple comforts of a country inn. Activities include horseback riding safaris, golf, nature walks, game drives, and more.