Rift Valley Adventure: Naivasha, Hell's Gate & the Lakes

This morning you leave Nairobi and descend into the Great Rift Valley, one of the great geological wonders of the world, stopping at a viewpoint over the dramatic valley, its escarpments and volcanoes spread below, before reaching beautiful Lake Naivasha, a freshwater lake ringed by hills and fringed with papyrus and fever trees. After settling into your lakeshore lodge, you enjoy a boat safari on the lake, gliding among pods of hippos and a spectacular wealth of waterbirds, from fish eagles swooping for fish to pelicans and kingfishers. You then visit Crescent Island, a walking sanctuary with no predators, where you can stroll on foot among giraffes, zebras and antelope in complete safety, getting wonderfully close to the wildlife. As the sun sets over Lake Naivasha, you savour the beauty and adventure. Rest well on the beautiful shores of this Rift Valley lake.

Today is a full, active day in the dramatic landscapes around Lake Naivasha. This morning you head to Hell's Gate National Park, one of the few parks in Kenya where you can explore on foot and by bicycle. You cycle along tracks across the open plains among grazing zebras, giraffes, buffalo and gazelles, then walk through the dramatic Ol Njorowe gorge, a narrow, towering red-rock canyon with hot springs and sculpted cliffs, scenery that inspired scenes in The Lion King. In the afternoon (or as an alternative), the energetic can hike up Mount Longonot, a dramatic dormant volcano, to its crater rim, with breathtaking views down into the forested caldera and out across the Rift Valley and its lakes. The cycling, gorge and climb are exhilarating. As the day ends, you return to Lake Naivasha. Rest well after a wonderful day of adventure.

This morning, after a final look at beautiful Lake Naivasha, you journey a short way north through the Great Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park, set in the Rift Valley floor and ringed by acacia forest, fever trees and dramatic escarpments. You arrive in time for a game drive in this beautiful park, a rhino sanctuary that is one of the best places in Kenya to see both black and white rhino, and a stronghold of the rare Rothschild's giraffe. The soda lake, famous for its birdlife, is at times fringed with great gatherings of pink flamingos and pelicans, and you also look for lion, leopard, buffalo and waterbuck amid the forest and escarpments. You might drive up to Baboon Cliff for a sweeping view over the lake and Rift Valley. As the sun sets, rest well beside beautiful Lake Nakuru, deep in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya.

Today you enjoy a full day exploring beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park and its dramatic Rift Valley setting. You set out on a morning game drive around the lake and through the acacia forest, seeking out black and white rhino, the rare Rothschild's giraffe, lion, leopard, buffalo and waterbuck, and taking in the spectacular birdlife of the soda lake, at times fringed with shimmering pink flamingos and pelicans. You might drive up to the viewpoints of Baboon Cliff or Out of Africa lookout for sweeping panoramas over the lake, the forest and the dramatic escarpments of the Rift Valley, and enjoy a picnic amid the beautiful scenery. After a relaxed midday break, you head out again for an afternoon game drive. As the sun sets over the Rift Valley, you savour the beauty and wildlife. Rest well beside beautiful Lake Nakuru, Kenya.

This morning you journey further north through the Great Rift Valley to Lake Bogoria, a beautiful soda lake set dramatically beneath the towering Siracho escarpment, one of the most spectacular and geologically dramatic of Kenya's lakes. On arrival you explore the shores, lined with bubbling hot springs and steaming geysers that spout jets of scalding water and steam into the air, an extraordinary, otherworldly sight. Lake Bogoria is one of the best places in Kenya to see vast, shimmering flocks of pink flamingos, which gather here in their thousands, a breathtaking spectacle, along with greater kudu on the escarpment and abundant birdlife. The steam, the flamingos and the drama are unforgettable. As the sun sets over this dramatic Rift Valley lake, you savour its wild beauty. Rest well near Lake Bogoria, deep in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, after a spectacular day.

After a final morning at dramatic Lake Bogoria, perhaps a last look at the steaming geysers and shimmering flamingos, you begin the scenic journey back through the Great Rift Valley to Nairobi, arriving in the capital in time for your onward international departure. You leave having actively explored the Great Rift Valley, one of the great geological wonders of the world, cycling and walking among wildlife in the dramatic gorges of Hell's Gate, hiking Mount Longonot to its crater rim, enjoying a boat safari among the hippos and birds of Lake Naivasha, and taking in the flamingos and rhino of Lake Nakuru and the steaming geysers and flamingos of Lake Bogoria. The images stay vivid long after you land, the red-rock gorge, the crater rim, and the shimmering pink flamingos beneath the escarpments. Kenya's Great Rift Valley offers drama, activity and beauty in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return.