Exploring Nairobi

Nairobi provides a vast array of opportunity for exploration and discovery. For history/anthropology buffs, the National archives and the National Museum of Kenya are essential stops. Both feature fascinating exhibits and showcase relics found no where else in the world. The Railway Museum details the history of the Lunatic Line and includes numerous photographs and other memorabilia. Travelers interested in art may enjoy the Gallery Watatu, a commercial gallery featuring revolving displays by over 30 artists from across Africa. The Payapaa Arts Center is a working artists’ studio used by painters and sculptors. It also features a permanent collection and a sales gallery.

Nairobi is perhaps the only capitol city in the world that feature wildlife game parks that offer a constant view of the city skyline. Travelers can visit an animal orphanage at Langata maintained by the World Wide Fund for Nature as an animal hospital and a research/breeding center for rare species.

Also at Langata is a Giraffe Center dedicated to the protection and nurturing of the rare Rothschild giraffe. Since 1978, the center has been operated by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife who maintain a special emphasis of conservation and education. Nairobi National Park covers a 120 sq km area between the city and the Athi River. Established in 1946, this was the first game reserve to be officially declared a national park and today features over 80 species of mammal and 500 species of bird.

Also of cultural interest to travelers is the Bomas of Kenya, an African folk center featuring small tribal villages and souvenirs. Uhuru Gardens mark Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963 with a monument, musical fountain, and garden area. Limuru and Ngong Hills on the outskirts of Nairobi provide travelers with a taste of British colonial life at the turn of the century.

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