Lake Naivasha
My Safari
Call a specialist to talk about Lake Naivasha now.
Located in the Rift Valley relatively close to Nairobi, Lake Naivasha is a beautiful freshwater lake almost 13 kms across, yet shallow-watered.
This existence of fresh water makes the area very fertile, and the surrounding forests are renowned as a world class birding destination. A considerable range of game is drawn here too, as recorded on the Information Tab below. Sport fish, including the Nile perch, have also been introduced here of late.
During colonial times Naivasha hosted the infamous 'Happy Valley' social set, who lived and partied to excess in the huge mansions and ranch houses that grew up around the lake. They are long gone, but the colonial ambiance remains to the benefit of visitors here.
Situated just south of Lake Naivasha, Hells Gate National Park covers 68sq km of mainly grassland and shrubland with acacia. The route through the park is spectacular leading through a gorge lined with sheer red cliffs. There is a river in the bottom of the gorge into which hot springs flow. It is also possible to visit Lake Nakuru from here (see the Other Information Tab below)
Wildlife Highlights:
Although Lake Naivasha is more usually regarded as a place to relax in colonial comfort after the usually frantic pace of the game viewing safari, the lake's fresh waters still draw an interesting collection of wildlife, including giraffe, buffalo, hippo and colobus monkey. It is even rumoured that leopard have been spotted around here at night.
As mentioned, Lake Naivasha is widely regarded as an ideal birding location, and it's difficult to beat sitting out at sunset, sundowner to hand, listening to the haunting cry of the fish eagle over the lake.
Getting to Lake Naivasha:
Lake Naivasha is about one hour's drive from Nairobi on a decent main road, and, for once, this is probably the preferred method of getting here, although there are also several airstrips available.
Indeed, some 50-60 years ago, Lake Naivasha was actually used as the landing place for air passengers destined for Nairobi, who were then taken on in by bus.
From here it is also possible to take the 2 1/2 hour road journey to Lake Nakuru - famed for its vast population of greater and lesser flamingo (providing a dense sea of pink), together with lion, rhino, etc.
