Regions in Brief

Most people visit Kenya to go on a safari or for a beach break or a combination of both. Most people arrive in Nairobi, and the majority of the game parks and reserves are within a day's drive of the city. Popular safari circuits include a couple of nights in the Masai Mara, combined with a night in both Lake Nakuru National Park and the region around Lake Naivasha, or a combination of 1 or 2 nights in both Amboseli and Tsavo. Longer safaris combine the Kenyan parks with those over the border in Tanzania's northern circuit, such as the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Some European package holiday-makers may arrive in Mombasa for a couple of weeks on the beach, but there is the option to visit one of the parks close to the coast like Tsavo for a night or two. The more adventurous can explore the northern deserts or climb Mount Kenya.

Nairobi -- Kenya's capital with an elevation of 1,661m (5,450 ft.) has a population of between 3 and 4 million. It grew from a swampy railway camp in 1899 into the largest city between Johannesburg and Cairo and is today a thriving city with a clamoring street life. Its reputation for crime is not unfounded, but visitors on organized tours or staying at a half-decent hotel should encounter few problems, if any. The center is a clutch of skyscrapers, surrounded by both slums and upmarket leafy suburbs, and although it's not a prime tourist destination, Nairobi does have a number of good attractions. These include the Nairobi National Park, which can easily be explored in a half-day, and the adjoining David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage, where visitors can see baby elephants and rhinos. There's an interesting line of museums including the National Museum and the Karen Blixen Museum, and you can look a giraffe in the eye from a tower at the Giraffe Centre. Nairobi's most famous restaurant, The Carnivore, is worth a night out for a gut-busting experience.

Rift Valley -- The Rift Valley is a vast geological feature created by tectonic forces in the earth's crust, which runs approximately 6,000km (3,700 miles) from Syria, under the Red Sea, and through Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi to Mozambique. In Kenya the valley is at its deepest just north of Nairobi and there are viewpoints on the Nairobi-Naivasha road. This region is dotted with lakes such as Elmenteita, Baringo, Bogoria, and Nakuru. With no outlets, these lakes have a high saline content rich in algae and small crustaceans, which in turn attracts flocks of thousands of flamingos. The geological upheavals also resulted in the sprouting of volcanic mountains in the valley including Longonot and Mount Kenya.

Western Kenya -- The region to the northwest of the Masai Mara and bordering Uganda is one of the least visited areas of Kenya as there are no big game parks to attract visitors. Nevertheless, the hilly, fertile scenery characterized by strikingly green tea plantations is pretty, and it does have some impressive geographical features. Mount Elgon is the second tallest mountain in Kenya and straddles the border with Uganda and can be visited in the Mount Elgon National Park. Lake Victoria, at 67,850 sq. km (26,460 sq. miles) is the second largest freshwater lake in the world. It can be seen from the town of Kisumu, or wealthy fishermen can stay at one of the luxurious fishing camps on the lake's islands. The Kakamega Forest is the last patch of tropical rainforest left in East Africa. It's a 45 sq. km (18 sq. miles) swath of dense hardwood trees and tangled vines that is home to hundreds of species of birds and small mammals, many of which are not found elsewhere in Kenya. The tiny Saiwa Swamp National Park, which is only 2.9 sq. km (1.3 sq. miles), protects the rare and shy sitatunga antelope that spends much of its time semi-submerged in water.

Central Highlands -- Roughly covering the region north of Nairobi to Isiolo, which is considered to be the gateway to the parched deserts of Kenya's northern frontier, the central highlands have many attractions for visitors. The region is dominated by the 5,199m (17,052 ft.) Mount Kenya, which can be climbed on an organized 4-day hike. To the north of the mountain is the recently proclaimed Laikipia Plateau, a patchwork of spacious ranches that in the early 1990s removed their fences and turned from farming livestock to harboring free-roaming wildlife on the shared land. This has been Kenya's greatest conservation initiative in recent years, and today it has the biggest concentration of game outside the Masai Mara, with exceptionally healthy populations of rhinos and elephants. Visitors to this region need to be well heeled, as most of the lodges are in original farm homesteads where you will experience personal hosting by the ranch owners. To the west of Mount Kenya is the Aberdares National Park, which is not like your typical African game park as the terrain is moor-like, forested, and often shrouded in fog, though it has plentiful wildlife. It was here at Treetops, a camp within the park, that the British Princess Elizabeth learned about the death of her father and became queen.

Coastal Kenya -- Kenya's coast is a playground for mostly European package tourists on sun, sea, and sand holidays, and for good reason. The 480km (300 miles) of Indian Ocean shoreline boasts sublime white-sand beaches, shady palm trees, sunny weather, warm water for swimming, and a colorful chain of offshore fringing coral reefs. Away from the beach, the towns have some historic reminders of the influence of African, Arabic, and European cultures on the coast, and the proximity of Tsavo National Park offers game viewing just a few hours drive away. Located on an island and with a string of beach resorts to the north and south, Mombasa is Kenya's second largest city. In the old town is a labyrinth of narrow twisting alleys and Fort Jesus, built in 1593 by the Portuguese to guard the entrance of the harbor. Further north, Malindi offers good snorkeling on the reefs, while the island of Lamu retains its timeless atmosphere in the winding streets of crumbling Arabic villas where there are no cars and donkeys still meander through the narrow lanes.

Southern Kenya -- No trip to Kenya is complete without visiting one or more of the major parks and reserves located along the border with Tanzania to the south of the country. The Masai Mara Game Reserve is an extension of Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, and this region of well-watered grassland plains stages the spectacular annual wildebeest migration, when hundreds of thousands of hoofed animals follow the rains and fresh pasture. They are followed by the predators: hyenas, lions, wild dogs, and vultures, and in the Mara River giant crocodiles lie in wait to pounce when the herds cross the river. Kilimanjaro provides a stunning backdrop to Amboseli National Park where a unique ecosystem supports a wide variety of game that is easy to spot. The combined Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks is the biggest protected wildlife refuge in Kenya, with vast rolling plains and scrubby vegetation that is home to large herds of game, especially elephants.

Northern Kenya -- The vast parched and stony deserts of northern Kenya are a sharp contrast to the green, fertile land of the Central Highlands. Remote and isolated, it's the least visited part of the country; access is difficult, in recent years it has suffered from drought and parts have been occupied by refugees from war-torn Somali and Sudan. Unfortunately, much of the area is also troubled by inter-tribal violence and banditry, and tourists should take local advice before traveling in the region. It's home to numerous ethnic groups such as the Samburu, Turkana, and El Molo people, whose lives have hardly been touched by the modern world, and one of the most striking sights are the large herds of camels roaming the barren landscape. Samburu National Park is the only stop on the traditional tourist circuit in this region, although Lake Turkana and Marsabit national parks are gaining in popularity. Samburu is home to some unusual animals not found further south like the Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, and gerenuk, a small antelope that reaches up to trees on its hind legs to feed. The forested hills around Marsabit are a sanctuary for the giant eland, while Lake Turkana supports the largest population of Nile crocodiles in the country and is famous for its brilliant color and is often dubbed the Jade Sea.