Google Maps
Down a quiet side road in the Nairobi suburb of Langata, the Giraffe Centre combines fun with an important and serious conservation message: it’s an all-too-rare combination, and the center does it well. This is, at
Read more
its heart, a breeding center for the Rothschild’s giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi), which is a subspecies of the northern or Nubian giraffe. The work being done here is playing a critical role in saving the subspecies. It’s also a fine place to spend a couple of hours. Get up close, feed a giraffe, and then learn the story of the entire giraffe species.Arrival & Check-in
The Giraffe Centre inhabits one of the prettier, quieter corners of Nairobi. It’s in the suburb of Langata, which is alongside the better-known area of Karen. Langata is filled with so many trees that it feels
Read more
a little like a country town. Just before you reach the Giraffe Centre, you’ll pass the gate to Giraffe Manor. This world-famous, vine-covered manor house is an exclusive boutique hotel where giraffes from the Giraffe Centre also wander the grounds.It’s worth arriving early in the morning: the Giraffe Centre opens at 9 AM, and by 11 AM its car park is often full. Visiting this early, you’re also more likely to be joined by local schoolchildren on an excursion. You can sometimes hear them squealing in delight from the car park and sharing this experience with them is a whole lot of fun. Admire the partial view from the car park, then walk through the grand entrance and pay your entry fee. It’s all carefully designed so that the head of even the tallest giraffe here can’t be seen until you’re through the gate.Wander the Boardwalks
As soon as you’re through the gate, if you’re lucky you’ll see the heads of the giraffes rising above the boardwalks. Thanks to those boardwalks, even the smallest child can be as tall as a giraffe.
Read more
The walkways rise gently, almost without you noticing, and although the giraffes are free to roam, they generally keep close to the boardwalks in case someone wants to feed them.On hand as you patrol the boardwalks are specially trained local guides and giraffe experts who can explain what’s going on here. The center’s giraffe population includes a mix of breeding adults and calves. As the guides will tell you, giraffe calves remain at the center until they are three years old. After that, they are transferred to one of Kenya’s national parks (to Lake Nakuru or Ruma National Parks, or to Solio Ranch) in order to boost the country’s wild population of Rothschild’s giraffes. The guides can also tell you the story of each giraffe. They know them all by name.Feed the Giraffes
Giraffes are odd-looking creatures from ground level, but they’re even more so when you’re on their level. The long, luscious eyelashes! The probing tongue! To get a feel for the latter, buy a bagful of pellets
Read more
next to the café and hand-feed the giraffe of your choice. As you’ll quickly discover, they’re not shy. It’s quite a novelty and remember this: there are very few places in the world where you can feed a giraffe in a way that is safe for both you and the animal. The guides will always be nearby to make sure that the giraffe doesn’t get too friendly and to answer any questions you may have. It really is a wonderful experience.Watch also as others feed them, so that you can take in your surroundings. For example, the giraffes seem unimpressed and not bothered in equal measure by the that forage in the mud around their feet for scraps. And you’ll invariably see some of the giraffes over by the stone mansion known as Giraffe Manor. Feeding is a very different experience at this luxury hotel, as the giraffes often poke their heads through the windows during meal times.Visit the Information Center
While you could visit the circular, split-level information center first, the detailed facts on giraffes make a whole lot more sense when you’ve just seen them up close. And anyway, you can always go back out
Read more
and see the giraffes again.The center has lots of information about the work being done to engage with local communities and save giraffes. But it’s hard to pull yourself away from the mini theaterette, where you’ll find everything you ever wanted to know about the tallest land animal. Who knew, for example, that a giraffe’s heart can weigh 11kg/24lb? Or that giraffes sleep no more than 45 minutes a day? Or that Rothschild’s giraffes differ from all other giraffes by having no patterns below their knees? The Conservation Guide display panels are a fascinating deep dive into the current state of giraffes in Kenya and, more broadly, across the continent.Walk the Gogo River Bird Sanctuary
On your way out of the Giraffe Centre, perhaps after a final face-to-face encounter with the giraffes, pause in the café or browse in the small gift shop. All proceeds go toward saving giraffes.Back out in
Read more
the car park, take a few minutes to walk the 1.5km/0.9mi loop down to the Gogo River, which rises in the Ngong Hills, and back again. All the way, you’ll be serenaded by birdsong as the trail leads through the kind of thick woodlands that were once everywhere in the Nairobi area. The record for species of birds seen on a single walk along this trail is a remarkable 60; watch for the grey apalis, and many more. If you’re lucky, you might also see (the smallest of all antelope species) and even a . And even if you’re not a birder, the silence that surrounds you as you move among the trees and away from the road makes the walk well worth the effort.Nearby Attractions
At the Giraffe Centre, you’re close to other Nairobi attractions. You could easily spend a day in and around the area. Not far away toward the city is the elephant orphanage at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust,