Lake Nakuru

You’ve probably witnessed a scene in a wildlife documentary of Lake Nakuru, where the flamingoes flourish.

Lying south of Central Kenya, Nakuru is a shallow alkaline lake (or salt lake). A National Park was established in 1961 to protect it. Today, it has been one of the most visited destinations in Kenya. Actually, Nakuru means “dust” or, in some translations of the Maasai language, “dusty place”. The lake is perhaps named as such due to its vast savannah whose soil loosens especially during the dry season.

The lake forms part of the Rift Valley soda lakes, a group of lakes that runs through the African Continent’s eastern side. These are some of the world’s deepest and largest lakes and are very well known for the evolution of more than 800 species of cichlid fish. Nakuru Lake is rich with algae, the primary reason why large numbers of flamingoes flock to the lakeshore. In fact, the shallow lake’s surface can hardly be seen due to the thousands, if not millions, of flamingoes whose fuchsia pink and white colors seemed like a mirage from afar.

Visitors who love the wildlife would also find this lake intriguing as it not only attracts flamingoes and other birds like pelicans and cormorants but also warthogs (made famous by the Pumba character in Disney’s “The Lion King”), rhinos and baboons. A bunch of Zebras are also seen from time to time.

So if you are planning to embark on a wildlife journey, you may do so as there are day tours from the capital that takes visitors and wildlife enthusiasts at Nakuru Lake as well as nearby spots like Masai Mara or Lake Baringo.

Lake Nakuru