Aberdare National Park

The Aberdare National Park is a protected area established in 1950.The park is located west of Mt. Kenya and is about 180 km away from Nairobi. It covers an area of 767 square kilometers. It covers an attitude from about 7,000 ft. to 14000 ft. and also form part of the Aberdare mountain range. Thick rainforest, spectacular waterfalls, cool mountain breezes and wild moorlands, Aberdare National Park is a hiking, fishing and wildlife paradise. The rich greens of the lichen and mossy forests here present contrast with the sandy yellows and browns of most other parks.
The experience in Aberdare National Park is unlike anywhere else in Kenya. The Park is most famous as the place where Princess Elizabeth found out that she was Queen upon the death of her father at Treetops Lodge. Since then this lodge has been popular with tourists on safari to Kenya.
Half the thrill of game viewing in this park is an Elephant or Buffalo suddenly appearing out of the thick rainforest vegetation. One of the best places to see the local denizens is at one of the waterholes by the lodge. The Park has several high mountain peaks, deep ravines with icy mountain streams and many beautiful waterfalls with a moorland plateau. The thick rainforest gives way to bamboo forest and interesting alpine vegetation the higher you travel up the mountain peaks within the park. The forest is home to populations of forest Elephants, Buffalo, Lion and several species of antelope such as Waterbuck, Duiker, the rare Suni and Bushbuck. If you are very lucky you might catch a glimpse of Kenya’s rarest antelope, the Bongo. The Park is also home to a healthy population of Black Rhino. The major attractions in Aberdare include the beautiful mountain ranges, picturesque waterfalls, rare animals – Black Serval, Black Leopard (seldom seen) and the Eastern Bongo (a huge forest Antelope), watching animals come to the waterhole at the famous Treetops Lodge,trout fishing and hiking. Activities to do in the Park include game drives and mountain hikes, photographic and birding safaris.
The best times to visit the Park are in January and February, as well as June and September. Due to its high altitude the region is much cooler than the savannas and coastal plains.
The region is misty and it rains year round, however, there are two main rainy seasons, from March through May and October through December. Due to the high amounts of rainfall during these periods, the roads may become impassable.