The Aberdare National Park is roughly 100 kilometers north of Nairobi. It has a wide range of topography with heights ranging from 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) to 4,000 meters (13,000 ft). Aberdare National Park, established in May 1950, encompasses an area of 766 square kilometers and is part of the Aberdare Mountain Range. The Park has a diverse topography, with mountain peaks up to 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level and deep, v-shaped valleys traversed by streams, rivers, and waterfalls. Lower altitudes are home to moorlands, bamboo forests, and rainforests.
How do I get there?
By Road:
The Park is easily accessible by asphalt from Nyeri and Naro Moru on the Eastern side and is 150 kilometers from Nairobi. A road runs across the Park, passing through the lower slopes and up to the Moorlands before connecting with another road from Naivasha on the western side. Naivasha is 87 kilometers from Nairobi. The park headquarters are located 15 kilometers from Nyeri town on the Nyeri – Nyahururu route.
By Air:
The Mweiga Airstrip is located on the opposite side of Park Hqs along the Nyeri – Nyahururu route, near Sasini Estate Farm.
History
Aberdare National Park is well known as the location where Princess Elizabeth discovered she was Queen after learning of her father, King George VI’s death, while visiting the Treetops Hotel in 1952.
Aberdare National Park was founded in 1950 to conserve and protect the Aberdare Mountains. It has since expanded to cover an area of 767 km2.
The protected region is home to lions, leopards, elephants, East African wild dogs, gigantic forest hogs, bushbucks, mountain reedbucks, waterbucks, Cape buffalos, sunis, side-striped jackals, elands, duikers, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, and sykes monkeys. Sightings of the African golden cat and the bongo are more unusual. The upper moorlands are home to species such as the common eland and the serval. In addition, the Aberdare National Park is home to a significant population of eastern black rhinoceros and around 250 species of birds, that include the endangered Aberdare cisticola, Jackson’s spurfowl, sparrowhawk, African goshawk, African fish eagle, sunbirds, and plovers.
Facilities:
Visitors can choose from various lodging options to the Park, including the Treetops Lodge, the Ark (constructed in the shape of Noah’s Ark), three self-help banda sites, eight particular campsites, and public camping in the moorland. There are five picnic areas as well. Both Treetops and The Ark offer fantastic nocturnal animal watching. Elephants, Cape buffalo, and rhinos have been seen visiting the waterholes. Mweiga and Nyeri airstrips are also part of the Park.