International & Local Food Options
There is a wide and ever-changing selection of excellent local restaurants, and cafes offering good foods down at the Karen Shopping Center and up in Ngong Town.
Rather than posting a list here, please ask us about recommendations when you arrive.
Local Attractions
Bomas of Kenya
About 10 km from Nairobi, Bomas of Kenya is a living museum celebrating the colorful tribes of Kenya. Visitors here can learn about the lifestyle, art, music, crafts, and culture of each tribe. The complex encompasses a recreated traditional village with homesteads or bomas built in the traditional style, each one reflecting the culture of a major ethnic group. Every afternoon, a team performs traditional dances and songs in the large theater.
Nairobi National Park
Kenya's first national park, Nairobi National Park is a haven for wildlife and only 7 km from the skyscrapers of Nairobi's city center. The park is also a rhino sanctuary, which protects more than 50 of these critically endangered creatures. In addition to the rhinos, visitors may spot lions, gazelles, buffaloes, warthogs, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, and ostriches, and more than 400 species of birds have been recorded in the wetlands.
David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
At the main gates of Nairobi National Park, this orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation program is a must-see for animal lovers. Daphne Sheldrick founded the project in 1977 in memory of her late husband David, a former warden at Tsavo East National Park. The center cares for young abandoned elephants and rhinos and works to release the animals back into the wild. Visitors can commune with these lovable creatures as they frolic in the mud and drink from giant baby bottles.
Ngong Hills
"Ngong" means "knuckles" in Masaai since these beautiful pointed green hills resemble the back of a fist facing the sky. The hills are the peaks of a ridge overlooking the Great Rift Valley, and many white settlers established their farms here in the early colonial days. Half-timbered houses and flowering gardens remain, but seem more suited to southern England than Africa.
Mamba village
Nairobi Mamba Village is a sanctuary for crocodiles located 12 km south of Nairobi City. The farm also houses Ostrich and is a popular destination for tourists and students. The best time to visit is during crocodiles feeding time. You will be thrilled how high giant crocs can jump to grab thrown pieces of meat oblivious of the other gaping giant crocodiles.
Karen Blixen Museum
One of Nairobi's top tourist attractions, the Karen Blixen Museum at the foot of the Ngong Hills is the former home of the famous namesake Out of Africa author. Karen Blixen, also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, lived in the house from 1917 to 1931 where she ran a coffee plantation. Today, visitors can tour the well-preserved colonial farmhouse, a kitchen in a separate building, a coffee-drying plant in the woodland, and an agricultural college on the grounds. Furniture that belonged to Karen Blixen and her husband is on display, as well as photographs, and books owned by Karen and her lover, Denys Finch Hatton. Enthusiastic guides bring the story of Karen Blixen and colonial Kenya to life.
Giraffe Centre
At the Giraffe Centre, on the edge of Nairobi National Park, visitors can come face to face with endangered Rothschild's giraffes. This non-profit center lies on the grounds of the plush guesthouse, Giraffe Manor, and its main mission is to provide conservation education for children. The visitor center displays information about these graceful creatures, and a raised platform allows visitors to feed them at eye level with specially prepared pellets. This attraction is a favorite with children - photo ops with wet gray giraffe tongues slurping little faces are priceless. After communing with these long-lashed beauties, visitors can enjoy a 1.5 km self-guided forest walk in the adjacent nature reserve.