Aberdare National Park
Welcome to Aberdare National Park
The insider's travel guide to Aberdare National ParkAberdare National Park is an area within the Aberdare Mountain Range consisting of two different ecosystems with a high, cold moorland and a dense tangled montane jungle below.
The wildlife here is harder to spot, however elephants and buffalos are common. There are also a number of endemic species including bongo antelope, bush pigs and melanistic leopard and serval.
Aberdare is a great place for birdwatching, with over 250 species in the park including sparrow hawks, goshawks and eagles.
You can also get out of the vehicle here and spend time hiking over the moorlands although you can’t enter the park on foot.
The Aberdare National Park atlas
2 picks Places & Experiences You Won't Find Elsewhere-
A world away from the African safari image of savannah grasses and drooling sunsets, the Aberdares consists of two different ecosystems. A high, cold and often bleak moorland and, below that, dense tangled montane jungle. The wildlife here is a little different and a little harder to spot. But elephants are very common as are big grumpy buffalo. There are also montane species you won’t see anywhere else including bongo antelope, bush pigs and melanistic leopard and serval. Unusually among Kenyan national parks, you can also get out of the vehicle here and enjoy long, lonely hikes over the moorlands: I have really enjoyed the sensation of trudging across the bleak moorlands in cold afternoon drizzle while always keeping a beady eye out for roaming buffalo. The park also has some history. In 1952, a young English lady named Elizabeth was staying at the famed Treetops Lodge here (today’s version is actually a reconstruction of the original) when it was announced that her father had died. And so it was, that on a remote Kenyan mountain slope, that young lady became Queen Elizabeth II. Many years later her eldest grandson, and future king, proposed to Kate Middleton in a small wooden fishing cabin in a spot not so far away from where his grandmother became Queen.
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Just north of Nairobi but a million miles from the sunbaked savannahs are the Aberdare hills, one of those places that seems to fly under the mass tourism radar. While roaming the peaceful moorlands I like to imagine the crowds of safari-goers racing around under the blazing sun in the big name parks to the south. If only they knew! Thankfully, blissfully few people do know about this hidden gem in Kenya’s central highlands. The Aberdares are actually two ecosystems in one national park. You’ve got the open, rugged moors of the highlands and below that, dense tangled montane jungle. The higher reaches evoke the moody hills of Scotland, lower down it’s more like the mist-filled forests of Rwanda. Neither are classically Kenya, which makes it a very pleasant break once you’ve had your fill of the game drives. The range runs for around 160km, with its northern tip only 40km from Nairobi. The local Kikuyu call it Nyandarua, which means “the drying hide,” a reference to its shape, which resembles a skin stretched out to dry. Wildlife is present here but elusive: I’ve seen elephants along the trail and once saw a leopard cross ahead of us, though more commonly you’ll spot buffalo, bushbuck or waterbuck moving quietly through the trees. Compared to Mount Kenya, a full-blown mountain expedition, the Aberdares offer something more low-key. No ropes, no scrambling, just big skies, quiet trails, and a real sense of stillness. I like to spend at least three days walking these hills. Here’s my suggested itinerary.
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Hiking in Aberdare National Park
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Hiking in Kenya's Aberdares
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