RU  UK  EN
Статьи  >  Visit  >  Nairobi: Now I have seen everything

Nairobi: Now I have seen everything

Автор: 19.10.2019 | Africa, nature, Kenya
Unique nature, the main tectonic fault of our planet, flamingos, giraffes and cheetahs at arm's length - all this and much more in our new article about the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi and its environs.

Nairobi is a city with three million inhabitants featuring all the attributes of a megacity: districts for the poor and the rich, huge shopping malls and headquarters of international enterprises, feeling of overcrowding, many kilometres of traffic jams in the centre and the national ghettos. Many people came there in search of a better life from neighbouring countries since latter-day Kenya is one of the continent's leaders at economic and social development. Tourism is one of the major engines of economic progress in the country which is rich in numerous outstanding sights and the locals learn to sell them to the best advantage.

Your journey begins with Jomo Kenyatta international airport located 15 kilometres from Nairobi. There you can immediately get a visa and pay for it neither more nor less than USD 50 per person.Nairobi-city-center-1200x854.jpgPhoto matadornetwork.com

A taxi ride to the city centre runs by amazing pictures: giraffes with a backdrop of towering skyscrapers, luxury villas interspersed with slums, obsessive traders and wizards trying to get into cars through window when you stop at traffic lights or stuck in traffic jams. After this transfer from the airport, city guests are unlikely to desire to take a city tour: it is easier and more interesting to get around on foot, when it is boiling hot (annual average is 24 degrees) less pleasure is to move at a speed of 10 kilometres per hour, better to walk.

For experienced travellers Nairobi centre is not the most interesting destination for several reasons. Firstly, there is not much of the architectural heritage because of city age and countless wars, and secondly all this "civilization" with billboards of Google, Coca-Cola and glass skyscrapers, will not give the opportunity to experience flavour of the Black Continent. Therefore, a three-hour walk with its culmination - an overview of the city from a helipad on the Clock Tower, will be enough. Next we offer to expand your itinerary with those places which are just unmissable.4A55C42D00000578-0-image-a-20_1521459606079.jpgPhoto dailymail.co.uk

You should start with smaller areas, the most memorable ones are districts of Eastleigh and Kibera. The first one is more often referred to as "Little Mogadishu" because the majority of its residents are refugees from Somalia. Vivacious markets of all sizes thrive on every street corner, creating the impression that the locals are engaged in chaotic trading. By the way, they sell everything from knitted hats and colourful bags to khat plant leaves, a soft drug that the inhabitants of Eastleigh chew like a gum. Maybe that is why they are so cheerful? Despite the fact that the municipality of Nairobi has no control over the life of this block, it is quite safe for tourists. The only time when it is better to abstain a visit is Friday evening after the prayer when the streets are teemed with too many religious fanatics.

Another thing is a district of Kibera, city officials strongly recommend foreigners not to visit it. The main slum across the whole East Africa is the kingdom of chaos and anarchy, where the principle of might makes right, is running at full. However, refined tourists from developed countries are eager to grab a lifetime experience, several agencies run tours of this million-strong township for a decent reward of not less than USD80 dollars, they drive people to Kibera after they paid to the district chiefs. Perhaps, the most striking is not poverty, but the feeling that all these prehistoric huts and lack of normal communications are just fifteen minutes away from luxury business districts.kibera___slums_of_nairobi_by_coolhandlinguist_d4texau-pre.jpg
Photo deviantart.com

After these above average places it is good idea to calm down and take a walk to the beautifully maintained Karen - a suburb named after the Danish writer and traveller Karen Blixen. Cosy villas, among which hides the writer’s farmhouse converted into a museum, refreshing greenery and tranquillity of Ngong Hills, make this neighbourhood the most desirable area for dwelling in Nairobi. Local people know little about overcrowded slums, problems with water and food, Karen residents are all well and the area looks like a well-groomed western town. So, while Karen Blixen was a brave adventurer who fell in love with Africa, she lived where inside scenery that is not much different from her usual comfort. Just another climate.house-ofwaine-garden.jpgPhoto yellowzebrasafaris.com

All, we paid homage to cult areas and now let’s move on.

Come to the nearby giraffe farm established back in the 1970s. Its first inhabitants were two representatives of a rare Rothschild giraffe breed. Good conditions and proper care offered by the reserve, contributed to the fact that the animals propagated at a fast rate and today Nairobi is a home to a significant part of the entire world population of this endangered breed. Visitors to this hands-on environmental education centre are welcome to enjoy guesthouses where one can overnight, special lifts rise nature lovers to the level of the giraffes’ muzzle so as to feed them. A day spent with these surprisingly affectionate creatures is the best gift for both for kids and adults.giraffe-manor-nairobi-exterior.jpgPhoto caravan.com.kg

Do not leave without attending the Nairobi National Park, providing a great chance to feel all the charm of safari first hand. Cheetahs, lions, black rhinos and many other wild animals will add adrenaline, and the bloodiest shots of the National Geographic after such a walk will be perceived only as calming images. Admission is USD50 (half price for children), but it's worth it, because in one visit you can see much more than visiting numerous city zoos.

Another a must foray is the Great Rift Valley located a hundred kilometres from the city. This deep crevice in the earth’s crust runs from Jordan to Mozambique, and offers the most dramatic view in Kenya. Arriving there, very few people did not think about the eternal things, and the miracle called the Earth. These landscapes are breath taking to dizziness, so every tourist needs some time to admire it alone.

After coming to your senses, take a tour along the pink lake of Nakuru. This colour is not due to its water, but because of the vast number of flamingos taken a liking to these lands. Beautiful and rare birds are no less stunning than geological wonders of the world, and their number makes eyes ripple. Nowhere says Africa like the Great Rift Valley, so take a guided tour of the Great Rift Valley for a few days, after which it is simply impossible not to fall in love with Africa, and Kenya in particular, local ecotourism is still second to nothing.Herd-zebras-Kenya-Maasai-Mara-National-Reserve.jpgPhoto britannica.com

And it is time to tell about daily bread, because all that walking and gawking require strength, and calories should be replenished. The best place for this is the meat restaurant attraction Carnivore, which is listed among the top 50 institutions around the world. It works on the principle "pay for entrance, eat all you wish." There they serve up real exotica like ostrich kebabs, lamb and crocodiles. When you have eaten as much as you can hold, order a glass of Calvados and your appetite returns. Yet, the capacity of stomach should be considered, as in addition to meat ant goodie cannot help trying a dessert - fruit sorbet which is also included in the entrance fee.

That is Nairobi – a growing city with "canned" exotics and just incredible surroundings. Once nature did its best there, and now it is the turn of people.

Cover photo Kenyatta International Conference Centre travelweekly-asia.com

Вам это будет интересно:
Departure: Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is called Middle Asian Switzerland. Mountains, rivers, waterfalls, caves, cols and green meadows aren’t a speck inferior in terms of aesthetics to European ones yet travelers haven't duly appreciated this country so far. Across-the-board exploration of the land by the state’s guests has only just begun. And alongside hotels that are being swiftly erected, ordinary yurts are still offered for residence to feel local natural.
Cities in Rrocks: Spanish Edition
To build a settlement on flatland - is this such a hard trick to pull off? A completely different story is when land is self-willed and rock-ribbed both directly and metaphorically speaking. People have been trying to master land and have own say in in-rock urban development for centuries. But only those who succeded in finding common ground with Earth managed to create true novels in stone.
10 facts about Papua New Guinea
Professional travelers, ethnographists and explorers rarely visit lands, popular among tourists, because there is a slim chance to make a discovery or learn something new there. However, experts have own TOP-list of countries and regions where even in 21st century they find things to amaze themselves first and entire world then.
If you have 10 dollars and you are in Nairobi
Today we are going on vacation in Kenya style! Let’s watch out for thieves, bargain at local markets, taste fantastic tea and get wrapped up into colourful African textiles. We will find out which places are not available for a modest budget, and without any worries, will cheer up admiring fantastic sunset on the coast of the Indian Ocean.
Art of topiary
When I, as a little girl, for the first time passed my hand over trimmed bush, my palm got scratched with sharp edges of twigs and lasting arborvitae fragrance hit my nose. Mesmerized, I was not able to take my eyes away from the cones, balls and squares that surrounded me in the park of a small resort town. I felt like being inside a fairy tale, where behind the leaves I could notice a smile of the Cheshire Cat.
Ålesund: Where Norwegian fairy tale begins
The Times newspaper edition recognized Ålesund as the most beautiful town in Norway. It is not without reason: wayward sea, mesmerizing northern nature, famous fjords, fabulous multi-coloured houses in the Art Nouveau style and the legendary Trolls' Path, beckon those wishing to see the stunning wild landscapes.
Colorful continent. Beautiful tribes of Africa
Daily life of African tribes may seem bizarre even for the natives of the continent. Only nature and curious travellers dare to met face to face with distinctive local atmosphere and unusual life of ethnic groups residing outside metropolis.
World most beautiful lighthouses
Lighthouse - this word evokes beautiful associations: sea adventures, storms, huge ships. And we do not want to dispel these thoughts, but rather to add fuel to the fire. There is a great amount of them in the world, they are striking by their beauty and inimitable. Today we are sharing with you the quintet of amazing lighthouses!
Between Heaven And... Water: World’s 5 smallest inhabited islands
Each of us wants to escape rush of a city from time to time and lie low somewhere far from everything and anything. And it better be a place where one can listen to whisper of waves, feel light breeze and forever make friends with inimitably loud silence that muffles every disturbing thought…
They need warmith. Where birds stay for winter
As a child I could spend hours gazing at the sky and spying majestic flocks of birds winging their way south. For a kid this movement was a real magic. Today my bookshelf hosts almost no books about magic, though I am still excited about feathered tribes travelling in hope to land on their winter grounds.
Super-chilled: Best festivals of ice and snow art
Ice and snow has long been used by artists to create different figures and objects, and only 1960, this age-old skill became a new trend of a land art! The largest number of winter artworks is created during special festivals about which we will tell our readers.
Snow-covered peaks. Best winter resorts
The cold season brings not only such important things as wrapping into a reindeer sweater, drinking hot chocolate and once again reviewing Christmas comedies. Thus, sport has not been canceled yet, so OUTLLOK compiled top five ski resort bucket list for you to cheer up and get out of your winter sleep.
Wild, wild Africa... Part 2
We are continuing our narration about the most breath-taking national reservations in Africa! There are five more primordial world areas where time hardly slowed down its running being afraid of worrying the natural harmony…
Greenland: must see attractions
Icy island of Greenland was first discovered by the Norwegian Vikings. This fact is surprising since this nomadic tribe had enough courage to penetrate into the harsh Arctic climate. We will not delve into searching for reasons which led warlike people to edge of the earth, but supply the modern traveller with the list of core Arctic attractions with a unique Greenlandic touch.
Wild, wild Africa. Famous national parks of the continent. Part 1
Insanely beautiful, raw and refined Africa is exactly the place where one should plunge into a whirlpool of wild nature, taking over an unusual role of a guest in the abode of animals, not vice versa... Here you can free your mind from all artificial and imaginary stuff, feeling like a tiny speck in the vast and exciting world...
Karakol. What is worth to know
Nature and heritage are above and beyond temporary drawbacks in infrastructure and services of Kyrgyzstan, which in terms of tourism is approaching to Georgia and Armenia. Let's consider this through the example of the cosy city of Karakol.
Chile: Land That Breathes with Fire
A thing that for tourists is a reason to click photo cameras in amazement, for local citizens is a source for constant concern and even grave danger. A chain of fire-breathing volcanoes, banded with salt lakes and thermal geysers, is believed to be one of the most astonishing spots on the planet. But one thing is to have a look and leave and completely another – to constantly ‘sit on a powderkeg’.
Canyons: Deep and long
When, if not now to conquer summits, overcome seas and climb on the rocks? People often make great efforts to enjoy the comfort through the whole lifetime. But sometimes our soul needs some romance, so OUTLOOK presents seven unique canyons.
On the Move. Street food from around the world. Part 2
Do you happen to get hungry? That is great as we go on with our story about the most popular street food from around the world. It’s freshly cooked - fall to, you guys! Let's start with the South Asian countries, namely Singapore - seafood-rich in vitamins and minerals occupy a key place in the diet of residents ...
"In vino veritas": world’s 5 most unusual vineyards
It has been known since olden times that wine-making process is a true art that is within the power only of the ones sincerely in love with their trade. Let alone beauty of masterpieces created by skillful hands – grape gardens, scattered in various nooks of the world, that impress with grandeur and adorn this planet, ornamenting it with bright juicy colors.
Закрыть
Outlook facebook page