GORP: Kenya National Park & Safari Guide

A guide to Kenya 's wildlife parks

Safari translates from Kiswahili as travel, leaving you with the question 'where to?' Most tour operators tailor make holidays, so it's up to you to choose which of the twenty or so major game reserves to put on your itinerary.

Here you'll find overviews of each reserve and details of what's unique. A trip to Kenya wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Masai Mara, and for good reasons. It's the countries finest wildlife sanctuary, but it can get crowded. Over 600,000 wildebeest migrate through the Mara between July and October, and what seems like a similar number of tourists.

As a rule of thumb, the further the park is from Nairobi(hence less accessible) the more authentic your experience will feel. Samburu is a good example, 325 kilometres north of Nairobi and worth the trek. At this latitude the geography has changed to rugged scrub and acacia, and supports different wildlife - including the otherwise elusive Reticulated Giraffe and Grevy's Zebra.

However, rules are there to be broken and Lake Naiavasha and the surrounding Hell's Gate Park do it in style. Only 100 kilometres outside the capital the lake is fast becoming a recreational centre for city dwellers and can be visited as a day out from Nairobi.

These and all sorts of other tours are posted here, as well as advice about what gear to take, and well-researched features on 'the Secrets of the Savannah ' and the like.

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