Most big safari animals are present in Lake Nakuru National Park, apart from elephants. The park is known for its populations of black and white rhino. White rhino is particularly conspicuous, and different groups can be encountered throughout the day. Hippo, waterbuck, plains zebra and Thomson’s gazelle are common on the floodplains.
The park is an important stronghold for the rare Rothschild’s giraffe. It was introduced to the park in the 1980s and has now become locally common. Aside from the widespread vervet monkey and olive baboon, the beautiful black-and-white colobus monkey can sometimes be found in the acacia forest. A highlight, if you’re lucky enough, are the tree-climbing lions. Lake Nakuru is the best place in Kenya to see them.
Lake Nakuru can be visited throughout the year, but wildlife viewing might be more difficult in April and May, which are the wettest months. At this time, rain might interfere with your game drives and the grass tends to be very high, making animal spotting more difficult.
