NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK

Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya. Established in 1946, the national park was Kenya's first. It is located approximately 7 kilometres south of the centre of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city,with an electric fence separating the park's wildlife from the metropolis.Nairobi's skyscrapers can be seen from the park. The proximity of urban and natural environments has caused conflicts between the animals and local people and threatens animals' migration routes.Still, despite its proximity to civilisation and relative small size for an African national park,Nairobi National Park boasts a large and varied wildlife population.Migrating herbivores gather in the park during the dry season, and it is one of Kenya's most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries.

The park covers an area of 117.21 square kilometres (28,963 acres) and is small in comparison to most of Africa's national parksThe park's altitude ranges between 1,533 metres (5,030 ft) and 1,760 metres (5,774 ft).It has a dry climate.The park is the only protected part of the Athi-Kapiti ecosystem, making up less than 10% of this ecosystem. The park has a diverse range of habitats and species.  Nairobi Park

The park is located about 7 kilometres (4 mi) from the Nairobi's centre. There is electric fencing around the park's northern, eastern, and western boundaries. Its southern boundary is formed by the Mbagathi River. This boundary is not fenced and is open to the Kitengela Conservation Area (located immediately south of the park) and the Athi-Kapiti plains. There is considerable movement of large ungulate species across this boundary.

The fence that separates the park from the city runs along a high way leaving the airport, this is one fact many Kenyans are proud of – this park is the only natural safari park that has a city scape background that can be seen from almost any part of the park, as seen in the picture of the giraffe and the sky scrapers.

The park's predominant environment is open grass plain with scattered Acacia bushes. The western uplands of the park have highland dry forest with stands of Olea africana, Croton dichogamus, Brachylaena hutchinsii, and Calodendrum. The lower slopes of these areas are grassland. Themeda, Cypress, Digitaria, and Cynodon species are found in these grassland areas. There are also scattered yellow-barked Acacia xanthophloea. There is a riverine forest along the permanent river in the south of the park. There are areas of broken bush and deep rocky valleys and gorges within the park. The species in the valleys are predominantly Acacia and Euphorbia candelabrum. Other tree species include Apodytes dimidiata, Canthium schimperiana, Elaeodendron buchananii, Ficus eriocarpa, Aspilia mossambicensis, Rhus natalensis, and Newtonia species. Several plants that grow on the rocky hillsides are unique to the Nairobi area. These species include Euphorbia brevitorta, Drimia calcarata, and Murdannia clarkeana.

The major wildlife attractions at the park are the Black rhino, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, buffaloes, Giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, elands and with over 400 species of birds sighted Some other attractions at the park  include the Nairobi Safari Walk, the Orphanage, Ivory burning site Monument.. 

Nairobi National Park is the main tourist attraction for visitors to Nairobi. Visitor attractions include the park's diverse bird species, cheetah, hyena, leopard, and lion. Other attractions are the wildebeest and zebra migrations in July and August, the Ivory Burning Site Monument, and the Nairobi Safari Walk and animal orphanage. Inhabitants of Nairobi visit the park and thousands of African children on school field trips visit the park each week.

The park's Wildlife Conservation Education Centre has lectures and video shows about wildlife and guided tours of the park and animal orphanage. These tours are primarily, but not exclusively, to educate schools and local communities. There has been criticism about animals' housing, and they now have more spacious housing in a more natural environment. The Kenya Wildlife Service has created a Safari Walk that highlights the variety of plants and animals that are in Kenya, and how they affect Kenya's population.

Nairobi national park has different gates to access it ,this include;Maasai gate,cheetar gate,Langata gate,Mbagathi Gate,Banda Gate and the main gate at langata road.

Picnic facilities are also present at the park for all kinds of events.

When visiting the park you may carry drinking water,binoculars, camera,sunglasses , sunscreen e.t.c.