Visitors to Aberdare National Park will most likely see animals such as black rhinos, elephants, warthogs, leopards, baboons, and white and black colobus monkeys. If you’re lucky, you might even catch a glimpse of the rarer species roaming the park, including bongos (an elusive forest antelope), elands, lions, and serval cats. Plus, birders will delight in the more than 250 avian species found in the national park including goshawks, eagles, and plovers.
There are a few facilities and accommodations inside the park, including Treetops Lodge (a hotel built on stilts), The Ark (a lodge built overlooking a watering hole), Aberdare Fishing Lodge (a collection of cabins for fishing enthusiasts), and campsites.
Aberdare is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Nairobi, with the easiest road access stemming from the towns of Nyahururu and Naivasha. There are also two small airstrips for chartered planes located just outside the park.
Aberdare National Park is open daily, from early morning to early evening. January through February, as well as June through September, are good-weather months to visit the park. Avoid booking your trip during the rainy season (March through May), as roads can become impassable.
In addition to seeing the wildlife on game drives, visitors to Aberdare National Park can go on bird-watching expeditions, walk through the park’s moorlands, visit a waterfall, go trout fishing, gaze at Mount Lesatima and Mount Kinangop, or experience a nocturnal animal viewing at Treetops Lodge or The Ark.