Lake Nakuru

Lake Nakuru is an alkaline lake located along the Rift Valley. Lake Nakuru was first gazetted as a bird sanctuary in 1960 and upgraded to National Park status in 1968. The national park is known as a bird sanctuary for the vast birdlife that resides there with over 400 species available on the lake and in the surrounding park. The most common birds have to be the flamingoes.

There are two types of flamingo species: the Lesser flamingo can be distinguished by its deep red carmine bill and pink plumage unlike the greater, which has a bill with a black tip. Lake Nakuru is an ornithologists' paradise offering the spectacular view of up to 2 million flamingos at one time during season. Usually, the lake recedes during the dry season and floods during the wet season.

Flamingoes are not the only avian attraction, also present are two large fish eating birds, pelicans and cormorants. Thousands of both little grebes and white winged black terns are frequently seen as are stilts, avocets, ducks, and in the European winter the migrant waders. The park hosts several picnic areas and some hides have been erected nearby the lake for bird observation.

Lake Nakuru National Park, apart from being a bird paradise, is also a black rhino sanctuary. The park is home for a large number of mammals such as zebras, giraffes and carnivores such as lions and leopards.