Nairobi is the gateway to Kenya's great safaris, but it deserves a few days of its own. Watch giraffes and rhinos against a backdrop of skyscrapers, meet orphaned elephants, then head on to the Maasai Mara or Amboseli.
Good to know
- Best time to go
- January, February, June, July, August, September and October
- Flight from New York
- about 14h 45m nonstop
- Local time
- —
- Currency
- Kenyan Shilling (KES)
- Languages
- Swahili and English
Flight time is an estimate based on distance; actual schedules vary by airline and route.
Highlights
- Nairobi National Park game drives
- Elephant orphanage visits
- Gateway to the Maasai Mara
History
Nairobi takes its name from a Maasai phrase, Enkare Nyrobi, meaning 'cool water', after a stream that crossed the swampy plain. The city was born in 1899 as a supply depot for the Uganda Railway, which the British were building from Mombasa to Lake Victoria. It grew fast, replacing Mombasa as the capital of the British East Africa Protectorate in 1905. In the 1950s the Mau Mau uprising challenged colonial rule, and Kenya won independence in 1963 under Jomo Kenyatta. Since then Nairobi has become East Africa's business and diplomatic centre, home to United Nations offices, a booming tech scene nicknamed 'Silicon Savannah', and the mobile-money revolution that began with M-Pesa.
Culture
Nairobi moves to a fast, entrepreneurial beat. Matatus, the minibuses painted with graffiti and blasting music, are a rolling art gallery. Swahili and English mix freely, often with Sheng, the city's street slang. Food means nyama choma (grilled meat) with ugali, or a plate of pilau and chapati. Weekends bring craft markets, live benga and Afro-pop, and long lunches in leafy suburbs like Karen, named after Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa.
Landmarks
© Brihaspati · CC BY-SA 4.0 Nairobi National Park
Just seven kilometres from the city centre, this park is home to lions, giraffes, zebras and one of Kenya's most important black rhino sanctuaries. Seeing wildlife with skyscrapers on the horizon is a uniquely Nairobi experience.
© CakeForBreakfast · CC BY-SA 4.0 Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
This orphanage rescues baby elephants and rhinos and raises them for release back into the wild. Visitors can watch the young elephants at their late-morning feeding and mud bath.
© Push the button · CC BY-SA 3.0 Giraffe Centre
Set up to protect the endangered Rothschild's giraffe, the centre lets you feed the animals from a raised platform at eye level. A short nature trail runs through the surrounding sanctuary.