Places · Kenya

Natural Wonders of Kenya: The 5 Most Beautiful Places to Visit

5 places in the atlas

Kenya spans an extraordinary range in a single country: Indian Ocean coral coast, arid northern deserts, the great savannas of the south that host some of the world's most famous wildlife, and the Great Rift Valley with its chain of soda lakes teeming with flamingos. At its centre rises Mount Kenya, the second-highest peak in Africa and the eroded core of an ancient volcano, still carrying glaciers almost on the equator and ringed by a surreal afro-alpine zone of giant lobelias. From reef to glacier by way of savanna, few countries pack in so much. Below are the 5 natural wonders of Kenya in the atlas — the most beautiful places to build a trip around, each with what makes it remarkable, when to go, and how to reach it. Best overall time: The dry seasons (roughly January–February and June–October) for wildlife viewing and mountain trekking; the great migration reaches the Masai Mara around July–October.

Masai Mara

Narok County, southwestern Kenya

Rolling grassland where the Great Migration crosses the Mara River — over a million wildebeest running the gauntlet of crocodiles and Africa's densest big-cat population.

Savanna & plains Africa

Amboseli National Park

Kajiado County, southern Kenya, on the Tanzanian border

The land of giants beneath Kilimanjaro — a dry-lake savanna in southern Kenya where great herds of free-ranging elephants cross golden plains with Africa's highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro, rising snow-capped just beyond the border.

Savanna & plains Africa

Hell's Gate

Naivasha, Great Rift Valley, Kenya

A dramatic Rift Valley gorge of red cliffs, rock towers, and steaming geothermal vents — one of the few African parks you can explore on foot or by bike among the wildlife.

Rock formation Africa

Lake Nakuru

Great Rift Valley, central Kenya

A shallow soda lake in Kenya's Rift Valley, famous for shimmering pink shorelines of flamingos and as a stronghold sanctuary for both black and white rhinos.

Lake Africa

Mount Kenya

Central Kenya

Africa's second-highest peak — the eroded core of an ancient volcano, crowned with glaciers on the equator and ringed by bizarre giant plants found nowhere else.

Mountain Africa