What is the treetop lodge experience like at the Aberdares

Treetop lodges in the Aberdares are built on platforms above a floodlit waterhole and salt lick. Wildlife visits throughout the night and a gong system wakes guests when elephants or other exciting animals arrive, creating a uniquely immersive nocturnal wildlife viewing experience.

What wildlife can I see in the Aberdare National Park

The Aberdares are home to forest elephants, buffalo, giant forest hog, leopard, black-and-white colobus monkeys, the endangered bongo antelope, and over 300 bird species adapted to the montane forest zone.

Can I see both rhino species at Lake Nakuru

Yes, Lake Nakuru National Park is one of the best places in Kenya to see both white and black rhinoceros, along with the park's famous flamingo populations and resident leopards.

How does the Mara experience compare to the Aberdares on this safari

The contrast is remarkable. The Aberdares offer cool, misty forest with secretive wildlife and dramatic waterfalls, while the Mara delivers the classic open savannah Big Five experience with spectacular predator encounters and vast herds of plains game.

Is this safari suitable for families with young children

Yes, this safari is well suited to families. The treetop lodge provides a particularly exciting experience for children, and the varied destinations keep younger travellers engaged throughout the six days.

6 Day Aberdare Nakuru Naivasha Mara Highlands Circuit Safari Kenya

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

Map

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

Map

Overview

An Aberdare Nakuru Naivasha and Mara highlands circuit safari takes you on a magnificent sweep through Kenya’s most diverse highland and savannah landscapes, from the misty montane forests of the Aberdare Range to the flamingo-fringed shores of the Rift Valley lakes and ultimately to the golden plains of the Maasai Mara. The Aberdare National Park is one of Kenya’s most underrated wildlife destinations, a realm of dense cedar and bamboo forest draped in mountain mist, cascading waterfalls, and secretive species rarely encountered on the open plains safaris. Elephant, buffalo, giant forest hog, bongo, and leopard are among the Aberdares’ remarkable inhabitants, while the iconic treetop lodges built on platforms above floodlit waterholes offer a magical overnight wildlife experience unlike anything else in Kenya. Descending from the highlands to Lake Nakuru, the landscape transitions through rolling farmland to the alkaline lakeshore fringed with thousands of lesser flamingos and populated by both white and black rhinoceros in one of Africa’s best rhino habitats. Lake Naivasha’s freshwater wetlands provide a tranquil contrast before the final descent to the Maasai Mara completes this extraordinary circuit. This 6-day highlands circuit safari is ideal for travellers who want to experience the full ecological range of Kenya’s landscapes, combining the cool, mysterious forests of the mountain zone with the classic open savannah Big Five experience of the Mara. Each day brings a completely new environment, a different cast of wildlife, and fresh photographic opportunities that together build into a comprehensive and deeply satisfying portrait of Kenya’s extraordinary natural diversity.

Trip Highlights

Overnight wildlife viewing from a treetop lodge in the Aberdare National Park
Aberdare waterfalls including the spectacular Karuru and Gura Falls
Forest elephants, buffalo, and giant forest hog in the Aberdare highlands
Flamingo flocks and both white and black rhinos at Lake Nakuru
Hippo and bird-watching boat safari on Lake Naivasha
Big Five game drives in the legendary Maasai Mara National Reserve
Scenic drive through the Great Rift Valley escarpment
Diverse habitats from montane forest to crater lake to open savannah

Day 01 :

Nairobi to Aberdare National Park

Your highlands circuit safari departs Nairobi early heading north through Thika and the coffee and tea estates of Murang'a before climbing through the Aberdare foothills to the park gate. The Aberdare National Park spans the highland moorland and dense forest zone of the Aberdare Mountain Range, rising to over 4,000 metres at its highest peaks. As you enter the park, the temperature drops noticeably and the forest closes around the road with towering cedar, podocarpus, and Aberdare heath plants forming a cathedral canopy overhead. En route to your treetop accommodation, your guide stops at viewpoints overlooking highland valleys and waterfalls that cascade down the steep escarpment. Check into your iconic treetop lodge perched on stilts above a floodlit waterhole and salt lick, where nocturnal wildlife visits throughout the night for outstanding wildlife observation.

Day 02 :

Aberdare Forest Wildlife and Waterfalls

The Aberdare treetop experience begins before sunrise with wildlife that has been visiting the waterhole through the night. Elephants, buffalo, and giant forest hog are commonly recorded at the salt lick, and leopard and hyena are occasional nocturnal visitors. After breakfast at the treetop lodge, your guide leads a vehicle-based excursion through the Aberdare forest zone targeting special highland species. The endangered bongo, a large chestnut forest antelope with white stripes, is occasionally spotted at forest clearings and salt licks in the montane zone. The park's spectacular waterfalls are a highlight of any Aberdare visit: Karuru Falls drops in three stages over 272 metres making it one of the highest waterfalls in Africa, while the twin Gura Falls and the accessible Chania Falls offer memorable photography in their misty rainforest settings. Return to the lodge for lunch before an afternoon drive through different forest sectors seeking black-and-white colobus monkeys, olive baboons, and the park's many highland bird species.

Day 03 :

Aberdare to Lake Nakuru National Park

After breakfast at the Aberdare treetop lodge, you descend from the highland forest back through the Rift Valley escarpment to Lake Nakuru National Park, approximately 2 hours by road. The descent from the cool highlands to the warm Rift Valley floor is one of Kenya's great scenic drives, with panoramic views opening across the soda lake system below. You arrive at Lake Nakuru in time for a welcome lunch before an afternoon game drive around the lakeside circuit. The park's famous flamingo populations often colour the entire shoreline in shades of pink, while on the western grasslands and acacia woodlands, Rothschild giraffes browse the treetops and both white and black rhinos can be found grazing in the open areas. The yellow fever tree forest bordering the lake is prime leopard territory, and your guide knows the favourite resting trees frequented by the park's resident leopard population.

Day 04 :

Lake Nakuru to Lake Naivasha

A morning game drive through Lake Nakuru continues the rhino search, following the lakeside track where rhinos are most active in the cooler morning hours. After breakfast, you drive south to Lake Naivasha, a 90-minute journey through the Rift Valley farmlands and flower-growing country that supplies European markets. Check into your lakeside lodge for lunch before a boat safari on Lake Naivasha in the afternoon. The lake's calm freshwater surface is home to one of Kenya's most impressive concentrations of resident and migratory waterbirds, with African fish eagles, grey-crowned cranes, African spoonbills, and Goliath herons among the highlights. After the boat safari, an optional guided walk on Crescent Island, an exposed peninsula accessible by boat, allows you to walk among free-roaming giraffes, zebras, and wildebeest in a predator-free sanctuary.

Day 05 :

Lake Naivasha to Maasai Mara

Depart Lake Naivasha after breakfast on the 3 to 4 hour drive south and west through the Rift Valley to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The route passes through Narok town and climbs the Mara escarpment before the road descends dramatically onto the open savannah that signals your arrival in Africa's greatest wildlife arena. Check into your tented camp or lodge in time for lunch and then head straight out on an afternoon game drive to make the most of your first Mara hours. The afternoon light is perfect for photography, and first-time Mara visitors are invariably overwhelmed by the sheer density of wildlife visible from any high point across the reserve. Lion, elephant, giraffe, and vast herds of wildebeest and zebra may all be sighted within the first hour of game driving.

Day 06 :

Maasai Mara to Nairobi

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at your Mara lodge or camp while the savannah landscape wakens around you with birdsong and the distant sounds of wildlife. After breakfast, check out and depart for the return drive to Nairobi through the Mara Triangle and the highland road through Narok and Naivasha, arriving back in Nairobi by early to mid-afternoon. This final drive through the Rift Valley highlands concludes a 6-day journey that has taken you through more different Kenya ecosystems and habitats than most visitors see in two weeks, delivering a circuit safari of extraordinary depth and diversity.