Southern Rift Valley

Southern Rift Valley is a region of Kenya, part of the Great Rift Valley which extends through several countries.

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Photo: Inkey, CC BY 2.0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Nairobi and Mount Kenya.

Nairobi

Photo: Nite Owl, CC BY 3.0.

Nairobi is a city of 4.4 million on the Nairobi River. It is the political, financial and media capital of Kenya, and a transit point that most travellers to Kenya will pass through.

Mount Kenya

Photo: Sherpa!, CC BY-SA 2.5 nl.

Mount Kenya is an extinct volcano near the centre of Kenya, about 150 km north of Nairobi. At 5,300 m it is Africa's second highest mountain, after Kilimanjaro.

Nakuru

Photo: Franco Pecchio, CC BY 2.0.

Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and it is the fourth largest city in Kenya and the largest in the Rift Valley region.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Maasai Mara National Reserve and Nairobi National Park.

Maasai Mara National Reserve is in the southwest of Kenya. The Maasai Mara is a national reserve belonging to the Maasai people and administered by the local county councils. It is one of the best known and most popular reserves in Africa.

Nairobi National Park

Photo: U.S. Department of State, Public domain.

Nairobi National Park is the closest national park to Nairobi in Kenya. It is a half-hour drive from the city, making it a good destination for a day trip.

Nyeri

Photo: Rotsee2, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Nyeri is a town situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya. It is the county headquarters of Nyeri County and was the central administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province.

Amboseli National Park

Photo: Boboseiptu, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Amboseli National Park, formerly Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, is a national park in Loitoktok District in Kajiado County, Kenya. It is 39,206 ha in size at the core of an 8,000 km2 ecosystem that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border.

Naivasha

Photo: Roma Neus, CC BY 3.0.

Naivasha (is a town in Nakuru County, Kenya, 92.8 km north west of Nairobi. From 1969, the population expanded by a factor of 17 times to over 355,383 at the 2019 census.

Embu

Photo: kikus, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Embu is in the Southern Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is located on the south-eastern slopes of the Mount Kenya massif.

Meru

Meru is in the Southern Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is located on the north-eastern slopes of Mount Kenya massif. The town consists of two main parts: central Meru, and junction town, which grew in the north, around the junction of B6 and the road to Maua.

Machakos

Photo: Nairobi123, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Machakos, also called Masaku, is a town in Machakos County, Kenya. Serving as the capital of the county, its urban population was 63,767 as of 2019.

Mount Longonot National Park

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Mount Longonot is a stratovolcano located southeast of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Africa. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s.

Aberdare National Park

Photo: Raidarmax, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Aberdare National Park is a 767-km² national park in the central highlands west of Mount Kenya, 180 km from Nairobi…

Voi

Photo: Inkey, CC BY 2.0.

Voi is the largest town in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya, in the former Coast Province. It is located at the western edge of Taru Desert, south and west of Tsavo East National Park, with the Sagala Hills to the south.

Narok

Photo: Marc Samsom, CC BY 2.0.

Narok is a town west of Nairobi that supports Kenya's economy in south-west of the country, along the Great Rift Valley. Narok is the county capital of the Narok County and stands as the major centre of commerce in the county.

Nanyuki

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Nanyuki is a market town in Laikipia County of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi.

Tsavo East National Park

Photo: McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0.

Tsavo East National Park is in the Southern Rift Valley of Kenya. Tsavo East is more popular than its slightly smaller brother, Tsavo West National Park, due to its proximity to Mombasa and its drier, more barren landscape that makes wildlife easier to spot.