Misty highland park of moorland, bamboo and rainforest, home to Treetops and The Ark and to elephants, buffalo and rare forest wildlife
The Aberdares are a world away from the hot savannah. Lower down, on the eastern Salient, dense rainforest and bamboo cover the slopes, and elephants and buffalo come out to waterholes and salt licks at night. Higher up, the forest gives way to open moorland, cut by deep valleys where rivers plunge over waterfalls, with the peaks of Satima in the north and Kinangop in the south.
Most visitors know the park through its tree lodges, Treetops and The Ark, where guests watch animals at floodlit waterholes from viewing decks after dark. Those with their own 4x4 can drive the moorland tracks to viewpoints, waterfalls and rock formations such as the Dragon's Teeth, and walk with an armed ranger. The wildlife includes elephants, buffalo, black rhinos, leopards, black-and-white colobus, giant forest hogs and more than 250 bird species, including the endangered Aberdare cisticola.
The Kikuyu name for the range is Nyandarua, often explained as 'drying hide' after its outline. In 1884 the explorer Joseph Thomson named the mountains after Lord Aberdare, then president of the Royal Geographical Society. The national park was created in May 1950 to protect the high forest and moorland.
In February 1952 Princess Elizabeth was staying at Treetops when her father, King George VI, died, so she became queen while in the Aberdares. During the 1950s Mau Mau fighters used the forests and bamboo as a base, and the original Treetops was burned down in 1955; KWS still points visitors to sites linked to that period, such as the Mau Mau post office tree.
The slopes around the park are intensively farmed, largely by Kikuyu families, and the range has long been part of their cultural landscape, as its Kikuyu name, Nyandarua, shows. Nyeri, the nearest town, is a busy market centre and the usual place to stock up before entering the park, and small farming centres such as Mweiga lie close to the park headquarters.
Visitors either stay at a tree lodge in the Salient and watch game at the waterhole through the evening, or explore the higher park by 4x4 on game drives to waterfalls and viewpoints. KWS lists hiking trails, including routes up Mount Satima, along with game drives and historical sites. Fishing and camping at public and special campsites are also possible. Roads can be steep and muddy, so a 4x4 is essential and rangers at the gates can advise on conditions.
The park is open all year, but the Aberdares are wet and often misty. The drier months, roughly January to February and June to September, are best for driving the moorland tracks and for hiking. Nights are cold at altitude in every season, and lodges can be misty and chilly.
Checked against the sources on 29 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
Nyeri town and the park headquarters near Mweiga lie on the eastern side of the range. Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Laikipia plateau are a short drive north, and Mount Kenya rises to the east across the valley. To the west, roads drop down towards Lake Naivasha and the Rift Valley.
Kenya · 7 nights4★ LodgeKenya · 9 nights4★ ResortThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 29 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.
