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ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK
The Aberdare is the established name of a mountain range which thrusts directly north from Nairobi for more than 160 km, with its mountain ranges and peaks soaring to heights over 14,000ft, giving way to deep V-shaped valleys with streams and rivers cascading over spectacular waterfalls. The intrepid Scot, Joseph Thomson, who explored the region in 1883, named the range after the then President of the Royal Geographical Society. According to traditional Kikuyu folklore they are one of the homes of Ngai (God). Part of the range is protected as the Aberdare National Park and encompasses all land over 3200m together with a projection due east, known as the Salient, which reaches down to2130 m near Nyeri town. The park is a fairyland, awesome in its majesty and beauty. From its vital catchments area the Aberdare Rainforest feeds the entire local and Nairobi water supply. Above the forest is a belt of bamboo, a favorite hang about of the Bongo, a rare and elusive forest antelope.
The bamboo gives way to moor land, home to eland, spotted and melanistic serval cats. Other features are the giant alpine varieties of lobelia, groundsel and heather. Ideal for walking, picnics, camping and trout fishing in the rivers, the moorlands are reminiscent of the European highlands.