22 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Kenya - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Kenya

Gedi Ruins

Abandoned city hidden from the world by tropical forest and isolation on the coast of Kenya.

Giraffe Manor

Just outside of Nairobi lies a large estate surrounded by endangered Rothschild giraffes, who have been fed from the window by Mick Jagger and Walter Cronkite.

Nairobi Animal Orphanage

Located in Nairobi National Park, this animal orphanage is the oldest of its kind in Kenya.

Diani Beach, Kenya

Ali Barbour's Cave Restaurant

Drink and dine in a coral cave that's at least 120,000 years old.

Giraffe Centre

Get tall with nature's lankiest beasts and their warthog friends at this Kenyan preserve.

Kitum Cave

A salty cave excavated by elephants and the location of a deadly disease vector.

Marafa Depression

Strange sandstone canyon known as the "place broken by itself."

Mara River Crossing

Life and death are on parade at the most reliably perilous site of “the Great Migration.”

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Kenya

Diani Beach, Kenya

Ali Barbour's Cave Restaurant

Drink and dine in a coral cave that's at least 120,000 years old.

Carnivore Restaurant

Kenyan restaurant is a carnivore's paradise, serving exotic meats at its ultimate 'Beast of a Feast.'

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Stories About Kenya

Meet Kenya's Sisterhood of Badass Bikers

The women-only motorcycle club offers skills learning, solidarity, and support that echoes pre-colonial networks.

by Peace Mundia

Maasai men beside an umbrella acacia tree at dawn on the Kenyan savanna.

The Resilience of Kenya's Indigenous-Run Conservation Collective

Despite falling tourism and other woes, Kenya's Il Ngwesi eco-lodge continues to provide for the community.

January 24, 2022

Students in a new paleoanthropology master’s program—co-led by the Turkana Basin Institute and Turkana University College—visit Kenya's Kokiselei archaeological site.

East Africa's New Generation of Human Evolution Researchers

In a region central to the study of human evolution, a new program focuses on training more African students.

by Linda Nordling

December 13, 2021

Samburu women in Kenya's Kirisia forest.

Women in Northern Kenya Rally to Save a Forest

Just a few years ago, Samburu women were using Kirisia Forest for firewood and charcoal. Now they're protecting it, and managing it sustainably.

by Peyton Fleming

"Blacky on a starry night in Laikipia County, Kenya, July 2019. For a photograph like this to work, several elements must come together: The night has to be dark, with the moon below the horizon and no hint of twilight to lighten the sky; the stars need to be unobscured by clouds; and the animal has to be facing the right way."

A Photographer's Pursuit of the Elusive Black Panther

The challenge of capturing something almost impossible to see.

by Will Burrard-Lucas

A male giraffe, Lbarnoti, was rescued from flooded Kenyan rangeland using a custom barge and some patient training.

The Great Kenyan Giraffe Rescue

It took a custom-built barge and a whole lot of patience to get these rare animals off a shrinking island.

February 16, 2021

The rat can also stand on two feet, though it often stays on all four.

Meet the Rats That Wear Protective Poison Armor

They’ve got loyal relationships and a preference for toxic plants.

by Isaac Schultz

December 30, 2020

A swarm of locusts in Samburu county, approximately 186 miles north of Nairobi, Kenya, on January 22.

How Climate Change Helped Spawn an East African Locust Crisis

Pictures from the ground show an insect storm of biblical proportions.

by Zoya Teirstein

January 30, 2020

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