aberdare national park

This is the one of the few national park in Kenya where you can spot Black Leopard easily.You can also do trekking here and is the second most beautiful national park after Mt Kenya naturally despite few animals comparing with other national parks like the famous Maasai Mara,Lake Nakuru and Samburu where there is abundant of animals.The highest point of these Mountain ranges is called Ole Satima 4100m.As you trek or driving in this park,you can come across many big animals like Elephants,Buffaloes,Waterbacks,Elands,Giant forest Hog and other small animals like Hyenas,Bush pigs,Tree squirrels,Black Leopards and the normal spotted ones,Wild dogs,Mountain Bongos.Birds like Marshal eagle Kites,Owls and many more are also found here

The Aberdares are a low mountain range sitting a few hours drive north of Nairobi. It is T-shaped, the N-S mountains for the top with a lower stem (the "salient") projecting eastwards. I had previously enjoyed a day-hike to Elephant Hill - the south-most rock about 12,000 feet high, a grey bald rock that looks a lot like an elephant looming over the greenery. I was lured to go camping in the east Aberdares with promises of great outdoors, animals and wonderful waterfalls. We camped at a private campsite on the south eastern side of the park, and on Saturday drove a couple of hours to Nyeri and the Park HQ to purchase our day passes (Residents 1,000 Ksh, tourists $65, plus 350 Ksh for the car). There were no maps to be had, but we had an official guide book so headed into the park. At the Treetops gate were half a dozen safari vans that were just exiting so we asked them if they had seen any animals. Not really, just they usual buffalo and a few warthogs; in fact the sightings were so poor, they had only spent about 20 minutes in the park. We pressed on and took the perimeter loop through the salient and spotted lots of buffalo and warthogs, a few bushbucks, and the occasional gazelle. Unlike the Masai Mara, the Aberdares have lots of trees and shrubbery for the animals to hide in. Also time of day - arriving about noon - was against up. We decided to swing west and see the Chania waterfall - easily accessible with a 5 minute hike from the bridge. The park guards had suggested we drive the western loop to see a number of other waterfalls, but the loop road turned out to be a muddy track flooded at every low spot. Fortunately we were in a 4x4 with high clearance and slogged our way to the Kiandongoro Gate where a gravel road led us 30km back to Nyeri. So we "got close" to a number of falls, but fearing to get bogged if we stopped, we were not able to see them. Perhaps in a dryer season or if equipped with rubber Wellingtons we might get close enough for some pictures. Back at the camp we compared notes with another 4x4 - the highlight of their day was a curious elephant that wandered by while they were digging themselves out of the mud in the salient. My favourite mental snaps were of three grey vervet monkeys snacking on roadside bamboo, and mom warthog being shadowed by the tiniest newborns I'd ever seen. While I agree parks are for the animals, the Aberdare National Park is in need of some maintenance to make it tourist friendly - repair the signposts so tourists can actually find the viewpoints, put some gravel on those roads to make them passable, print up the visitor guides and maps so they know where to look. Put some campgrounds in the park. This park is a jewel in the mud...

Fantastisch park met een geweldige vegitatie.We hebben er weinig beesten gezien, maar als je van offroad rijden houdt is het een geweldig park. De watervallen stellen nagenoeg niets voor.Goed zelf te rijden ivm goede richting aanwijzingen

Die Aberdares sind eine meiner Lieblingsregionen in Kenia. Die Vegetation ist einzigartig, die vielen Wasserfälle z.T. spektakulär. Eine Wanderung zum höchsten Gipfel, dem Ol Donyo Lesatima (4001 m), ist eine tolle Erfahrung. Leider aber ist Kenia schnell dabei, die Eintrittspreise herauszusetzen, schafft es aber auf der anderen Seite noch nicht einmal, die Wege zu warten. Viele Routen sind selbst bei trockenem Wetter kaum mit einem Geländewagen zu meistern. Der Tierbestand ist weitgehend ausgerottet. Obwohl einige unseriöse Reiseveranstalter immer noch mit den "gefährlichen Löwen der Aberdares" werben - es gibt sie seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr. Früher durfte man die Berge noch alleine besteigen, heute muss man einen bewaffneten Ranger mitnehmen - reine Geldmacherei. Die Fishing Loge (2 Häuser) ist neu möbliert und zu empfehlen, sofern man die jeweils 7 Betten zu füllen weiß. Die vom Kenya Wildlife Service angebotene Sapper-Hütte ist total versifft, ohne Matratzen, und schlichtweg unbewohnbar! Die angebotenen Zeltplätze sind ebenfalls völlig inakzeptabel. Lieber irgendwo diskret "wild" zelten oder den Park nur zum Tagesausflug nutzen. Ansonsten Achtung: Vorher genau erkundigen, wo und wie gezahlt werden kann und wie man hinkommt. Wegeschilder fehlen zum Teil. Eintrittstickets genau kontrollieren! Da wird gerne zu viel berechnet.