Tourist attractions in Kenya
Posted by Laurentiu - Filled under Kenya, Eastern Africa
Kenya is a country in Eastern Africa bordered by Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest, with the Indian Ocean running along the southeast border. It is comparable in size to France, and is somewhat smaller than the US state of Texas.
Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and the most important city in the country. It is a cosmopolitan and multicultural religious city, with many immigrants from former British colonies, including India, Somalia and Sudan. This is highlighted in the number of churches, mosques, temples and gurdwaras within the city. As a reflection of the cities multicultural composition, the night life offers a diverse range of watering holes.
Nairobi has the informal title “The Green City in the Sun”. Nairobi is not a prime tourist destination, but it does have several tourist attractions. The most famous is the Nairobi National Park. The national park is unique, in being the only game-reserve of this nature to border a capital city, or city of this size. The park contains many animals including lions and giraffes. The park is home to over 400 species of bird, which is more than the entire British Isles. This really is quite remarkable and the kind of thing when you are in Britain watching TV or playing about at the Partypoker website, it’s pretty hard to imagine. Located just 10 mins from the city centre off Langata Road, its ideal to get your first feel of what Kenya has to offer, or for those quick visits without the time to see the Mara, Serengeti, Amboseli etc. It’s the ideal park to visit.
Nairobi has several museums. These include the Nairobi Railway Museum and the National Museum of Kenya, which houses many artefacts including the full remains of a homo erectus boy. The National Museum is currenly closed due to renovation, but is due to be reopened in 2007.
Nairobi is also home to the largest ice rink in Africa, the Panari Sky Centre. The rink covers 15,000 square metres and can accommodate 200 people.
Langata is a suburb of Nairobi, lying south west of the city centre and south of Karen. It is home to a large European population, and to a giraffe centre. The center was established in order to protect the endangered Rothschild’s Giraffe, that is found only in the grasslands of East Africa. The main attraction for visitors is feeding giraffes from a raised observation platform.
A tourist village Bomas of Kenya is in Langata. Bomas (homesteads) displays traditional villages belonging to the several Kenyan tribes. Langata also has the famous Carnivore restaurant and Carnivore grounds, where many concerts are hosted.
The Karen Blixen Museum situated in the suburb “Karen” was the home of the author Karen Blixen between 1917 and 1931. She spent much of her life in Africa, Kenya in particular, and wrote the book Out of Africa. The museum includes many books from Karen Blixen’s library and also a number of her African portrait paintings.
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