Karura Forest, Nairobi: Waterfall loop
Just outside of the city centre of Nairobi is Karura Forest, a huge park area which covers over 1000 hectares of land and is bursting with a variety of trees and plants, caves and waterfalls. Managed by the Kenya Forest Service and Friends of Karura Forest, the area is well maintained and includes picnic areas, a children’s playground, and miles of well-marked trails.
Soak up the natural landscape just a short distance from the city and delight in the array of birds and butterflies swooping past you at regular intervals, the complete absence of noise and the serenity and shade offered by giant trees. If you’re looking to escape the city and reconnect with nature, Karura Forest is the place to go.
Start/end point: Karura Forest Gate A
Average duration: 1.5 hours
Distance: 7km loop
When to go: Year round - be careful in the rainy season as the tracks get very muddy and slippery
Difficulty: Easy (but not recommended to those with mobility issues as there are steep inclines and lots of steps down to the waterfall)
Things to note: You have to pay 600 Kenyan Shillings (Nov 2024) around £3.75 to enter the park. Bag searches are done at various entry points and gates, and you are not allowed to bring any single-use plastics into the park so make sure you use a reusable water bottle!
Maps/Info: The walking route is well signposted and there is a map at Gate A which shows all the hiking/cycling trails in the Forest.
Map provided by the Kenya Forest Service:
All Trails provides a great downloadable map which will sync onto Google maps/Maps me/other formats as required:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/kenya/nairobi/olive-path-sykes-monkey-and-kfeet-track
The hike:
We arrived at Gate A at around 9.45am on a Saturday. We had expected it to be busy and there were quite a few people around the gate area. We approached the staff who searched Tom’s bag and directed us to the ticket booth where we purchased 2 x tickets at 600 Kenyan Shillings each (around £3.75). This fee was to enter the park for the day – you can stay as long as you want. We were there on foot so simply thought of it as if we’d paid to park.
Once through the gates we started on a trail which led through the forest towards the west side of the park and was signposted towards the café and the waterfall. We knew we wanted to do the loop around the waterfall and some more of the trails so followed this signpost.
Almost immediately we felt the release of stress and worries that being amongst nature always gives us. Trees rose up tall and colourful on both sides of the trail, with bright, vivid flowers and plants dotting the ground and contrasting wildly with the red mud of the track.
Continuing on along this pathway we came to a cross-road point with trails going in all directions. We wanted to turn right here but the trail was completely flooded and muddy so we continued straight on towards the picnic areas and café. We thought we’d check them out before meeting back up with the path we wanted towards the waterfall. We went past the playground and the café and stayed on the Kima Trail.
Feeling peaceful and calm, we carried onto a major path which took us to another gate. We had our bag checked again and turned right here on the track towards the waterfall. Once we’d walked a couple of kilometres we got to a sign which said to turn right for the waterfall. We ignored this and continued straight on as we wanted to do a bigger loop walk and would take in the waterfall later on.
After this point the trails got very quiet - as most people take that turn to the waterfall - and we only passed a couple of people. We pretty much had the entire forest to ourselves and enjoyed the peace and quiet, tuning out of the city noise and in to the beautiful bird song that echoed through the trees.
The loop is easy enough to follow and after another kilometre or so we followed the path up and slightly to the left before taking a right turn at another information point and the first right again after that so we were heading directly east. We followed narrower and more slippery path for a few hundred metres before turning right again at another signposted point for the waterfall.
We crossed over a bridge over some water which was clearly coming from the waterfall – we could hear it cascading somewhere nearby. The water was a muddy brown colour and contrasted beautifully against the green foliage and trees.
The way down to the falls was well signposted, with information boards and toilets near the top of the path. To get down to the base of the falls you have to go down about fifty steep and very muddy and slippery steps. I wouldn’t recommend this section to anyone with knee or hip issues as the steps are very uneven. However, there is a rail to help you the entire way down.
Once you get to the bottom of the stairs you will be greeted with the magnificent sight of the Karura Waterfall. A wide ledge with water cascading out across it, which falls about 30m down a craggy granite rockface and at a speed which is both impressive and deafening.
We spent some time here soaking up the view before continuing on our way. Not surprisingly this was where we saw the most people, so we didn’t linger too long. Picking up the trail heading south back towards Gate A we plodded on through some very muddy sections before having to divert and take a right turn onto the Middle Track due to flooding, mud and impassable sections of the path.
The Middle Track took us back towards the trail we’d started on near the playground and from there we headed down to The River Café, a gorgeous café with some of the best food and drink in the city.
They’re used to walkers coming in and don’t mind if you’re covered in mud which was good as we were!
We stopped here for a rest and a well-earned coffee – and water, as we didn’t have a reusable bottle to bring into the forest and were very thirsty! The café feels as though it is part of the forest as it has been designed almost like a tree house with three open sides and all natural wood. If you can, try to get a table on the edge nearest the trees.
All in all we felt the entry fee was worth it to escape the city and immerse ourselves in nature on a good old hike – our favourite thing to do. It’s a must visit if you’re in Nairobi.