Things to Do in Kenya

The Mara is the safari against which all others are measured: the high density of big cats that made it a film-industry regular, open savannah in every direction, and — roughly July to October — the wildebeest migration crossing its rivers. Lions, elephants and giraffe are often seen on a single drive; nothing is ever guaranteed, which is exactly the point.

It works as everything from a long day trip out of Nairobi to the centerpiece of a week-long safari.

Amboseli is elephant country — large, deeply studied herds crossing open plains with Africa's highest mountain filling the horizon across the border. Clear views favor early mornings; by midday the summit often wraps itself in cloud.

Drier and more open than the Mara, it is the photograph most people picture when they imagine Kenya.

Nairobi is the only capital on Earth with a national park on its doorstep — lions, black rhino, giraffe and buffalo living minutes from the skyline. Black rhino sightings here are among the most reliable in Kenya.

It's the perfect first or last day of any Kenyan trip: a real safari that fits between an airport and a hotel.

Tsavo East and West together form one of the continent's largest protected areas — famous for elephants dusted red by the soil, the Galana River, Mzima's clear springs and huge, uncrowded horizons.

Closest of the great parks to the coast, Tsavo is how a beach vacation becomes a safari without a flight.

North of Mount Kenya the land turns semi-arid and the wildlife changes with it: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, beisa oryx and the gerenuk — the 'Samburu Special Five' — live here and almost nowhere else on a classic safari route.

The Ewaso Ng'iro river pulls elephants and leopards to its banks; the light in the north is unlike anywhere else in Kenya.

Lake Nakuru National Park is one of Kenya's most dependable rhino sanctuaries — black and white rhino are often seen — with lions, leopards and Rothschild's giraffes in its acacia woodland. Flamingo numbers rise and fall with the lake's water levels; treat the famous pink shore as a bonus, not a promise.

An easy addition to any Rift Valley route from Nairobi.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia holds one of East Africa's largest black rhino sanctuaries and the world's last two northern white rhinos — conservation's most famous residents. The Sweetwaters sanctuary here is the only place in Kenya to see rescued chimpanzees.

Rhino sightings are about as reliable as Africa offers, with Mount Kenya on the horizon for photos.

Kenya's Indian Ocean coast is a destination in its own right: Diani's white sand and reef-calmed lagoon — repeatedly named among Africa's best beaches — with dhow boat trips to marine parks, rainforested hills behind the shore and Swahili history a short drive away in Mombasa.

The classic Kenyan trip ends here: safari first, sand second.

Hell's Gate is one of the very few parks in Kenya you can cross by bicycle — pedaling past giraffe, zebra and warthog beneath red cliffs and the gorge that helped inspire film landscapes. Most visitors pair it with a Lake Naivasha boat ride past hippos and fish eagles.

Two hours from Nairobi, it's the Rift Valley's most active day trip.

The Aberdare Range is Kenya's other face — high, misty mountain forest with waterfalls, moorland and wildlife you search for rather than simply find: elephants and buffalo in the clearings, colobus monkeys overhead, and with real luck the rare bongo antelope.

Cool air, running water and forest sounds — the counterpoint to every plains safari.

Lamu Old Town is East Africa's oldest continuously inhabited Swahili settlement — a UNESCO World Heritage Site of coral-stone houses, carved doors and lanes too narrow for cars, where donkeys and dhows still do the carrying.

It rewards travelers who want culture at walking pace after the safari's early mornings.

Mombasa's Fort Jesus, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has guarded the old harbor since the 1590s, changing hands between Portuguese and Omani rulers through siege after siege. Old Town begins at its gate: carved doors, houses with balconies, spice markets and coffee vendors.

It's the most accessible piece of history in Kenya — and the street food is the best reward.