Can wildlife coexist with the modern world? That question is sharply tested in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. In 1946, when the city’s population was just 119,000, land immediately south of the city was set aside as a national park. The city has since expanded dramatically—today it is home to more than 4 million people—yet Nairobi National Park endures. Just three miles from the heart of downtown, wild lions still roam.
As Nairobi’s skyline has evolved, skyscrapers have become a dramatic backdrop to photos of the park’s lions, rhinoceros, buffalo and giraffes. In 2019 a new Mombasa–Nairobi railway line opened, carried on massive concrete pillars that cut through the park and divide it in two.
From one angle, the elevated railway can feel like an intrusion on the wilderness experience of a day trip to the park. Do you want your giraffe photos framed by concrete columns? From another angle, the line offers a different perspective: it illustrates how urban infrastructure and protected nature can coexist when compromises are struck. The animals have shown resilience, and many aspects of their daily lives continue with little visible disruption.
giraffes at Langata, Nature Education Centre
The park still contains large stretches of open savannah free from concrete and skyscraper views, so you can easily spend a full day exploring its habitats. Many visitors combine a park visit with other Nairobi attractions. Notable nearby sites include the Karen Blixen House, familiar from the film Out of Africa; the Langata Giraffe Centre, where a raised platform allows close, eye-level encounters with giraffes; and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Elephant Orphanage, where supporters who “adopt” an elephant (typically around $50 a year) can take part in evening feeding sessions.
When I first visited Nairobi as a child in the 1970s, it was still possible to hear lions roaring at night from a downtown hotel. The lions continue to roar, but the city’s constant activity now often drowns out those sounds. Still, for all the noise and development, the extraordinary reality remains: within a short drive of Nairobi’s center you can find yourself beside a pride of wild lions. No other major city in the world offers that blend of urban life and accessible wilderness.