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| Aberdares
National Park - Basic Facts |
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Size:
766 sq kms
Province: Central Kenya,
East Africa
District: Nyeri and
Murang'a
Geographical Location:
Central highlands, west of Mount Kenya.
Altitude: 1,829-3,994m
Vegetation: Rich alpine
and sub-alpine flora giving way at lower altitudes to bamboo
forests and montane forests.
Fauna: Mammals of the
forest zone include blue monkey, colobus, leopard, elephant,
warthog black rhino, giant forest hog, bushbuck, buffalo,
red duiker, and sum. The open moorlands have serval eland,
several species of duiker, and the rare bongo.
Bird Life: More than
200 recorded species.
Special Features: Trout can be caught in the moorland streams.
Visitor Facilities:
Two lodges, two self-help-fishing lodges, and five campsites.
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| Aberdares
National Park - General Information |
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| The Aberdare National
Park was created in 1950 to protect the forested slopes
and moors of the Aberdare Mountains. The Aberdares National
Parks lies in an isolated volcanic range that forms the
eastern wall of the rift valley, running roughly 100km north
south between Nairobi and Thomsons Falls. The National Park
lies mainly above the tree line running along the 10,000ft
contour with some forest and scrub at lower altitude in
the 'salient' area near Nyeri with the boundary running
down to the 7000ft contour. There are two main peaks, Ol
Donyo Lesatima (3,999m) and Kinangop (3,906m) separated
by a long saddle of alpine moorland at over 3,000m. The
Aberdares are an important water catchment area providing
water to the Tana and Athi rivers and part of Central Rift
and Northern drainage basins. |
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The unusual vegetation,
rugged terrain, streams and waterfalls combine to
create an area of great scenic beauty in the National
Park. The park is surrounded by a predominantly indigenous
forest, whose management is under an MoU between KWS
and the Forest Department. While the park has elephant,
lion, rhino, black leopard and the beautiful but |
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elusive bongo antelope, it
is rarely visited by safari companies and individual
travellers. There are a number of reasons for this,
one is that the high rainfall turns the roads to
mudslides and you need a 4x4 to get anywhere, and
as a result the park often closes in the wet season.
Added to this is the dense forest, which makes game
viewing tricky. Lastly, other than campsites with
minimal facilities, the only accommodation is at
two very expensive tree lodges that are also the
main attraction of the Aberdares. Both Treetops
and The Ark are built above the ground beside floodlit
waterholes with salt licks. Tourists and visitors
must book in advance and cannot make their own way
to the lodges in private vehicles. Aberdares Treetops
lodge is one of Kenya's most famous tree hotels
as this is where British Princess Elizabeth was
informed that she was now Queen in 1952 when her
father died. The Ark, however, offers better game
viewing, especially at night.
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| Accessibility
to Aberdares National Park |
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There is a road which traverses
the Aberdare mountains and the National Park from
Naivasha to Nyeri which can be handled by a sturdy
vehicle in good weather. To get to Aberdare National
Park from Nairobi, take the A104 north to Naivasha,
and branch off on the road to Nyeri. There are six
public gates into the park, and two private ones serving
Treetops and the Ark. You cannot
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in your own vehicle. From Nyeri, the Salient can be approached
via Ruhuruini Gate or Wandaris Gate, and Chaina Falls area
via Kiandongoro Gate. The park can be approached from the
Nyeri-Nyahururu road in the north via Shamata Gate or Rhino
Gate, or from Naivasha or Gilgil in the west via Mutubio
Gate. The steepest section of this route, formerly impassible
in the rains, is now tarred. Nyeri is served by numerous
buses from Nairobi, but no public transport runs to any
of the gates. Hiking into the park is very difficult. To
walk into the park you must be part of a group and pre-arrange
the trip with the Park Warden, Aberdare National Park, P.O.
Box 22, Nyeri. You will be assigned a guard. |
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| Lodging
& Camping in Aberdares National Park |
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Lodging in the Amboseli National
Reserve includes the Amboseli Serena Lodge with 182
beds, the Amboseli Lodge with 240 beds and the Kilimanjaro
Safari Lodge, also with 240 beds. Outside of the park,
the Kilimanjaro Buffalo Lodge offers 200 beds while
the Kimana Lodge has 112 beds for visitors. The campsites
in Amboseli National Park are run by Masaai communities.
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Lodging immediately
in or near the National Park include the Aberdare Country
Club, 98 beds, The Ark with 118 beds, and Treetops, 94 beds.
In nearbly Sweetwaters Game Reserve is the Sweetwaters Luxury
Tented Camp. For lodging in nearby towns, or try the Outspan
Hotel in Nyeri, 74 beds.
Camping in the Aberdare National Park has been severely
restricted since some campers were attacked by aggresive
lions in the early 1980s. Rumours abound concerning these
man-eaters, but it seems that the release of some semi-tame
lions used in a film were the cause of the problem. It is
uncertain whether the campers were attacked by these beasts,
hungry and unafraid of humans, or by the other lions reacting
against encroachments on their territory, but the attacks
resulted in the closure of most campsites outside the Salient
and limitations for walkers on the high moorlands.
The Public Campsites at Chania
Falls and at Queens Banda, which were closed through the
early 1990s are reportedly reopened. We arrange bookings
for visits, game drives and walking tours to Aberdare
National Park. Reedbuck Campsites, a relatively new site
near the Self Help Fishing Lodge and the only site in
the high moorland, offers firewood, toilets, water and
wet weather shelter. There is no food here, so bring all
of your provisions. In the Salient area, there are eight
Special Campsites which vary in remoteness and facilities.
Two are at Kiguri, five at Muringato and one at Prince
Charles.
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| Further
Information and Booking |
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| AfriChoice operates
a wide range of carefully designed tours and safaris to
Aberdares National Park by providing transport and booking
hotels for you. Our safari consultants will always be at
your assistance should you need a tailor-made holiday to
this unique destination. NB: For more information regarding
this topic, DO NOT hesitate to contact
us. |
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| Related
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