Eroded volcanic rock formations rise from the highland terrain of Kenya's Rift Valley.

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Rift Valley Lakes Circuit

Six days through Kenya's Rift Valley lakes: Naivasha, Hell's Gate, Nakuru, Bogoria's geysers, and Baringo's cliffs.

Enquire about this trip See the day by day

Duration6 Days / 5 Nights

Group size2 – 6 travellers

Best monthsNovember – April for peak waterbird numbers

From$1,970 per person sharing

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The Trip in Short

The lakes of the Kenyan Rift sit close enough together that you can string five of them into a single week without a single long transfer day. Naivasha is freshwater and fringed with acacia. Hell’s Gate is the one park in Kenya you can walk or cycle through unguided, past a red-walled gorge with a hot spring at the end of it. Nakuru and Bogoria are soda lakes that turn pink with flamingos depending on the water chemistry that year, and Bogoria’s northern end steams with active geysers.

Baringo, further north again, is freshwater once more and the quietest of the five, known to birders more than photographers.

This trip is a slower, more textured alternative to a straight Mara-and-done safari, built for travellers who want variety of landscape as much as wildlife.

Fees and rules in Kenya's national parks are set by the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Highlights

Lake Naivasha boat safari among hippos and fish eagles
Hell's Gate gorge walk past the Devil's Bedroom formation
Lake Nakuru rhino and flamingo game drive
Lake Bogoria's hot springs and geysers
Lake Baringo boat trip for cliff-nesting birds
Njemps community fishing traditions on Baringo

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Where You Go, Stop by Stop

Day 1

Nairobi to Lake Naivasha

Day 2

Hell's Gate National Park

Day 3

Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru

Day 4

Lake Nakuru to Lake Bogoria

Day 5

Lake Bogoria to Lake Baringo

Day 6

Lake Baringo to Nairobi

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Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1: Nairobi to Lake Naivasha

A short two-hour drive down into the Rift Valley, arriving in time for an afternoon boat safari on the lake, weaving between pods of hippo and beneath fish eagles waiting on dead acacia branches.

Day 2: Hell's Gate National Park

A rare Kenyan park you explore on foot or by bicycle without an armed escort, since the resident wildlife is mostly plains game rather than predators. The trail drops into a red-walled gorge, past rock formations known as the Devil's Bedroom and the Devil's Shower, ending at a natural hot spring.

Day 3: Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru

A short transfer to Lake Nakuru, with the afternoon spent driving the park roads for both black and white rhino, plus whatever proportion of the lake's flamingo population is in residence that season.

Day 4: Lake Nakuru to Lake Bogoria

North to Bogoria, a hot, steep-sided soda lake where hot springs and geysers steam along the shoreline and greater flamingos often outnumber the birds at Nakuru.

Day 5: Lake Bogoria to Lake Baringo

A short onward drive to freshwater Baringo, where an afternoon boat trip brings you close to Goliath herons, fish eagles and the cliffs where the local Njemps community still fish from wooden rafts.

Day 6: Return to Nairobi

A morning at leisure, then the drive back to Nairobi via the Rift Valley escarpment, arriving in the afternoon.

From

$1,970

Enquire about this trip

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What the Price Covers

Included

All accommodation, twin share
All meals as specified
Private 4x4 vehicle and driver-guide
All park and reserve entry fees
Lake Naivasha and Lake Baringo boat safaris
Hell's Gate walking or cycling guide fee

Not included

International flights
Kenyan visa fee
Tips and gratuities
Alcoholic drinks
Personal expenses
Bicycle rental at Hell's Gate, available locally

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Before You Book

Do the lakes always have flamingos?

Numbers shift year to year with water levels and salinity, and flamingos move between Nakuru and Bogoria depending on conditions. We can't promise which lake will be pinker in any given month.

Is Hell's Gate strenuous?

The main gorge walk is a few hours, mostly flat with one rocky descent; cycling the open plains section is an easier alternative.

How hot does it get at Bogoria and Baringo?

Both sit lower and hotter than Nairobi or the Mara; expect daytime temperatures well into the thirties Celsius.

Is this trip good for birders specifically?

Very much so — the lake chain covers waterbirds, cliff-nesting species and Rift Valley specialities in one week without long transfers.

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Where This Trip Goes

Nairobi National Park

Kenya · National Park

Kenya's oldest national park, seven kilometres from central Nairobi, with real savannah wildlife including a protected black rhino population.

Maasai Mara National Reserve

Kenya · Reserve

The Kenyan half of the Serengeti ecosystem, famous for the Mara River crossings between July and October and reliable Big Five viewing year-round.

Aberdare National Park

Kenya · Mountain

An isolated volcanic range forming the Rift Valley's eastern wall, with waterfalls, moorland and a key watershed role for central Kenya's rivers.

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Rift Valley Lakes Circuit