Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Visit Kora National Park

Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Visit Kora National Park In Kenya

Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Visit Kora National Park, Kora is linked to several other parks and reserves including Meru National Park in kenya.

All the big five safari animals roam across the borders and can be found in Kora. Due to heavy poaching, animal densities are quite low, however, and the park shouldn’t be visited for the typical wildlife experience. Elephant, hippo, hyena, and several antelope species are just some of the animals you could encounter.

Weather & Climate

The weather and climate of Kora is comparable to that of Kenya in general.

Kenya lies on the equator and has a satisfying tropical climate and there are large regional climatic variations influenced by several factors which include altitude.

Kenya’s daytime temperatures average between 20°C/68°F and 28°C/82°F, but it is warmer on the coast. Kenya is too close to the equator to experience a real winter and summer. There is however, both a Dry and Wet season that are experienced throughout the year

1. Scenery

The beautiful scenery of Kora is its main attractiveness. And the limitless plains are interrupted by inselbergs or domed hills, which evidently ‘float’ above the landscape.

The beautiful Tana River forms one of the boundaries of the park, and magnificent doum palms line its banks. Features of the Tana River include Adamson’s Falls, Grand Falls and the Kora Rapids.

2. Climb the kora rock.

Kora Rock is 442m, but it is not the highest point at Kora National Park, it is most famous for inselbergs in which it connects to George Adamson and Elsa, the celebrity pet lioness.

At the same time the 442 Monnection to George Adamson and Elsa the celebrity pet lioness. Mansumbi rises 488 M and is actually the highest followed by Kumbulanwa at 450 M. The rocks provide vantage points to view pristine wilderness in the park.

3. Visit The Two Falls and a Rapid

Besides River Tana there are Adamson’s fall, Grand Falls and the Kora rapids that can be visited, Tana River on which the Adamson’s Falls, Grand Falls and Kora Rapids are found.  The visitors can enjoy the diverse birdlife and fishing in Tana River rock-climbing and also visit George Adamson’s grave.

4. Pay your Respects to Bwana Simba

George Adamson is buried in the Kora National Park boardering to Terrance, his brother who had died two years earlier. And the graves of his two beloved lions, Super Cub and Boy lie nearby. The lions propelled George and his wife Joy, to household names around the world. On that fateful day, George was on his way to pick up visitors at his dirt airstrip. His Land-Rover came under attack from three Somali bandits and even two of his Kenyan assistants also died that day. During his funeral, 12 uniformed game rangers raised their rifles to their shoulders and fired a volley into the air. He was aged 83 years old.

5. Enjoy a Wild Ambience

Encounter the Kora’s unique and diverse fauna at river tana, 21 species of fish have been caught along the Kora stretch of Tana River. Also the park is home to almost 500 species of insects and Other species include 33 molluscs, 40 reptiles, and 5 amphibians. At kora national park 215 species of birds and 51 of mammals also live with in the area. These include elephant, Lesser Kudu, wild dog, striped and spotted hyenas, lion, leopard and cheetah.

6. Fishing At The Park.

This is done in Tana river within kora national park with a great number of local communities depending on fishing for a living , the river is associated with a variety of river types such as oxbows, meanders, sandy flood plains, and many features.

7. Nature walks

This include walking along the forest river lines and other surroundings in the national park with an up-cles interaction and a closer view of attractions and these trails offer sightings of different wildlife species and the beautiful scenery in the park.

Accommodation At Kora National Park

At kora national park accommodation facilities range from luxury accommodation, midrange accommodation budget accommodation offering quality services including safety, comfort and relaxation to tourists which include;

• Luxury accommodation; leopardrock lodges, Elsa’s Kopi lodge
• Midrange accommodation; murera guest house, Kinna guest house.
• Budget accommodation; Murera cottages, Oribi guesthouse, Chui cottages and Simba cottages.

Camping sites  at the Park

Kora National Park has various camping facilities campers can use for more extended stays at the park. Kampi Baridi site, along Murera River on the Meru National Park’s side, is a good option. There are a few others, including public ones that are also available for the tourists.

Best Time to Visit

Kora National Park can be visited throughout the year, but the roads can become very difficult to navigate in the Wet season. The grass is very long in the Wet season , making animals more difficult to spot, as the grasses are long and some do hide in the shrubs, also water being in plenty, wildlife just disperse themselves. The wet season makes it hard to also camp around as there are no accommodation facilities. Driving routes is also affected by the heavy rain. A 4 x 4 safari vehicle is needed to easily go about the terrain.  However, for those who love photography, great photos can be captured during this wet season as the grasses are green, giving a great output.

The best time for visiting Kora national park  is in the Dry season from June to September, when there is less grasses, making it easy to spot the wildlife from a distance as they also tend to collect themselves around the water points. The dry season also makes camping amazing and easy to drive to the area.

How to get there

By road: take the Nairobi-Embu route 320 km to Ura Gate, this route may be difficult in the rain season or you can take the Nairobi-Nanyuki-Meru route which is  348 km to Murera Gate.  There is no fuel in the Park and the last fuel station is at Maua

To get to Kora NP: a bridge across the Tana River leads from Meru National Park into Kora National Park at Adamson Falls.

Kora is 280km/173mi to the northeast of Nairobi. A fully-equipped 4×4 is essential. If on an independent trip, it is advisable to travel with an escort.