The Rift Valley's Pink Lake
Lake Nakuru National Park, in the heart of the Great Rift Valley, protects one of Kenya's most unique and visually extraordinary landscapes. The soda lake at its centre is alkaline and highly productive — at peak times, millions of lesser flamingos feed on its algae-rich shallows, turning the shoreline a vivid pink. It is one of the world's great birdwatching spectacles.
Beyond the flamingos, Lake Nakuru is Kenya's premier rhino sanctuary — both black and white rhino are resident and regularly seen. The park was one of the first in Africa to be successfully fenced to protect rhino populations from poaching, and it now holds one of the highest densities of white rhino anywhere on earth.
The park's diverse habitats include the soda lake shoreline, lush groundwater forest, open grasslands and rocky cliffs — the latter supporting a resident population of Rothschild's giraffe, one of the world's most endangered giraffe subspecies. Waterfalls, rocky viewpoints and euphorbia forests add dramatic variety to the landscape.
Why Dawn Safaris Loves It
- One of the world's best rhino sightings — black and white rhino both resident
- Millions of flamingos can turn the lake shoreline bright pink
- Rothschild's giraffe — one of the world's rarest giraffe subspecies
- 450+ bird species including the African fish eagle and pelicans
- Compact park — excellent game viewing in a half or full day
