Aberdare National Park on a Kenyan wildlife safari.
Aberdare National Park is a remarkable home to all the Big Five and other wildlife species. It has stunning attractions of Aberdare mountain ranges that make it among the top-visited safari destinations in Kenya.
More so, Aberdare is located East of the East African Rift Valley between Nyandarua and Nyeri county near Nyeri city. It became a national park in 1950, purposely to protect bio diversity of wildlife species.
The park is renowned as a home for Big fives, which are easily seen on early morning game drives before too much sunshine comes out, before they return to their hideouts.
Although Aberdare lies on a small piece of land of about 766 square kilometres, comprising tropical rain forest, a home to a variety of primates, moorlands where visitors can sightsee the unique Bongo species, common eland, African golden cat, among.
Other parts of the park consist of mountainous areas, water catchment, and open grassland, where you can experience the highest concentration of game animals along the water bank during dry seasons.
Moreover, the park boasts large eastern black rhinoceros populations and a birding paradise with more than 300 bird species.
Attractions in Aberdare National Park
Aberdare is home to rare Bongo antelopes.
It is a capital of wildlife animals which can be seen roaming in different areas of the park.
Wildlife Species include: East African wild dog, Giant forest hog, waterbuck, duiker, Cape buffalo, Mountain reedbuck, lions, Leopards, Elephants, Suni, Side-striped jackal, eland and various cats can be seen around the moorland, among others.
Interestingly, you can view some of these species right from your comfortable bed lodge, lodges like Treetops lodge, which provides excellent nighttime wildlife viewing of animals such as Cape buffaloes, elephants, and rhinos, which come to quench their thirst along the waterhole, which is close to the park’s lodges.
Primate species;
The park on a Kenya safari is also home to primates like Olive baboons, white and black colobus monkeys, Vervet, and Sykes monkeys, which can be seen on guided nature walk in the bamboo forest. Other primates like Chimpanzees can be trekked at OI Pajeta Conservancy in Nanyuki, which lies a few kilometres away from the park and takes 1 or 2 hours to access the area.
Chimpanzees give a highlight experience in life as you get close to your cousins, who are said to have 98% DNA to human genes. You will get to learn about their lifestyle.
Birdlife in Aberdare National Park
Most tourists, they think Aberdare National Park is a Kingdom of game animals and primates not knowing that, it’s also a great place for birding where you can view numerous bird species such as African green pigeon, African yellow warbler, Ayres’s hawk eagle, Cinnamon–chested bee-eater, Golden–winged sun bird, Hartlaub’s turaco, Abyssinian Crimson wing, Jackson’s francolin, Mountain buzzards, Olive ibis, Sharpe’s long claw, Silvery-cheeked horn bill, rufous–chested sparrow hawk, Narina trogin, Tinket bird, Doherty’s bush–shrike many more. They are easily spotted on its nature habitat like water birds, forest birds, and savannah birds, thus offering you an excellent bird viewing.
Best time for birding in Kenya Safaris
Birding in Aberdare National Park can be done throughout the year, though the best time for bird watching is from November to April-best time for watching migrant bird species, which come all the way from Europe and North Africa.
Then, from June to September and December to February can be drier months, best for game viewing and hiking adventures, as well as watching residential bird species.
Getting there- Aberdare National Park;
Aberdare National Park can be easily accessed by driving, using a 4×4 wheel. There are two Airstrip such as Mweiga and Nyeri Airstrip, located close to the park headquarters. Book your domestic charter flight from Wilson Airport with the help of an expert tour operator.
Conclusion
Aberdare National Park gives outdoor enthusiasts and those who appreciate the beauty of nature an incredible opportunity to experience the wilderness of Kenya. The park not only offers visitors the ability to feel at one with nature in a beautiful setting but also helps protect vital habitats. The park’s scenery includes the beautiful misty mountains, fast-flowing rivers, many waterfalls and natural animal habitats, as well as a permanent reminder of Kenya’s commitment to conservation and the enduring power of the African wilderness.
