Best time to visit Lake Nakuru in Kenya – Best time to view flamingos – Best time to see wildlife of Lake Nakuru
Best time to visit Lake Nakuru in Kenya – Lake Nakuru National Park is a pleasant destination for an African safari that includes but is not limited to bird watching, game viewing, and sightseeing. The park is endowed with beautiful features and creatures that leave you delighted when they experience the park.
June to October and January to February is the best time to visit Lake Nakuru. The Great Wildebeest Migration reaches the Masai Mara National Reserve in July and remains until October when they move back to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. However, wildlife is easier to spot since the animals gather around the water source as well as on the Rivers.
Lake Nakuru National Park is located in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley and is blessed with a unique climate that makes it perfect for a visit any time of the year. It is like any other place in Kenya and has two weather seasons thus the rainy season and the dry season.
The short rainy seasons run from April to June and from October to December, the short dry seasons run from July to September and January to March. However, Lake Nakuru National Park has a dry semi-humid kind of climate which makes the park have average conditions of not too hot or too cold conditions throughout the year. This means that whether it’s the rainy season or the dry season. The park’s climate will be favorable for a safari at any time.
The popular months for most tourist visits to Lake Nakuru National Park are January, February, March, June, July, August, September, and October; and this is because these are the driest months of the year, so touring this park is more lucrative and enjoyable. In these months the park grass is shorter and you can easier see the animals, the driving trails are drier so less car trouble, most diurnal animals are moving around the park freely so you don’t have to such lengths to see them and the nocturnal animals are in shades that are not far from your sight. Also if you are looking at camping and picnicking, these are the best months because they have minimal rainfall meaning less or no interruption to your experience.
April, May, November, and December are the less popular months for tourist visits because they have the most rain and they are dubbed the wet months. The rains in these months fairly affect some of the activities you can do on your safari and this for any tourist makes it feel like a wasted safari.
However, though those rains may affect some in Lake Nakuru National Park, not much is affected because of the natural climate of the park that is dry semi-humid throughout the year, which means even in the rainy seasons the rains are moderate. But also Lake Nakuru National Park is a fenced park so even in the rainy seasons the animals cannot leave the park, you can still see them; plus the road network inside the park is well-developed meaning even in the rainy season, your car won’t have much trouble navigating through the park.
Also, the rainy months are known to have more birds on the lake and in the parklands because of the abundance of food available in the habitat; this is when the migratory birds migrate to the park. So if birding is your main reason for the visit to the park, the rainy seasons or at the end of the rainy seasons may be a good idea for you to visit the park. The growing flora in the rainy seasons is also beautiful to look at as an addition to your tour.
Generally, the best time to visit Lake Nakuru National Park will depend on the activities you would like to do while at the park; those that are favored by dry weather and those that are favored by wet weather.
Some of the attractions in Lake Nakuru National Park include the more than 450 bird species in the park on lake Nakuru and the in the parklands, the Rhinos and Rothschild’s giraffe in the Rhino sanctuary, and over 50 animal species that make their habitat in the park.
Lake Nakuru National Park is also a picturesque place with a variety of scenic ridge features that make scenic spots for sightseeing, camping, picnicking, photo and film sessions among others.
