LAKE NAIVASHA

Located in Nakuru County, just outside the town of Naivasha, Lake Naivasha is a large freshwater lake which is easily accessible from Nairobi. Situated at an elevation of 1,884m, Lake Naivasha is the highest lake within the Great Rift Valley.

The 98km journey from Nairobi takes around 2.5 hours, and the lake’s proximity to the capital makes it a popular day trip or weekend break for city dwellers. To escape the crowds, we recommend that you visit during the week.

Lake Naivasha is a great destination for wildlife viewing, and the surrounding area is home to 1,500 hippos. You can also expect to see a range of the lake’s 400 bird species, and giraffes, zebras, impalas, and waterbucks along the shoreline.

We recommend that you take a boat safari to get the best view of the breath-taking landscape.

Lake Naivasha is at the highest elevation of the Kenyan Rift valley at 1,884 metres (6,181 ft) in a complex geological combination of volcanic rocks and sedimentary deposits from a larger Pleistocene Era lake. Apart from transient streams, the lake is fed by the perennial Malewa and Gilgil rivers. There is no visible outlet, but since the lake water is relatively fresh it is assumed to have an underground outflow. The lake had a normal surface area of 139 square kilometres (54 sq mi) before 2010 and had increased to 198 square kilometres (76 sq mi) by 2020.It is surrounded by a swamp which covers an area of 64 square kilometres (25 sq mi), but this can vary largely depending on rainfall. Situated at an altitude of 1,884 metres (6,181 ft),the lake has an average depth of 6 metres (20 ft), with the deepest area being at Crescent Island, with a maximum depth of 30 metres (98 ft. Njorowa Gorge once formed the lake's outlet, but it is now high above the lake and forms the entrance to Hell's Gate National Park. The town of Naivasha (formerly East Nakuru) lies on the north-east edge of the lake.