The Atlas Obscura Guide To Kenya

24 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Kenya

Updated February 1, 2024

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Unusual Attractions in Kenya

Malindi, Kenya

Gedi Ruins

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

Giraffe eating breakfast with guests at Giraffe Manor

Nairobi, 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.

Diani Beach, Kenya

Ali Barbour's Cave Restaurant

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

Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi Animal Orphanage

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

Giraffe Centre

Nairobi, Kenya

Giraffe Centre

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

Kenya

Kitum Cave

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

Wildebeest plunge into the Mara River

Kenya

Mara River Crossing

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

Malindi, Kenya

Marafa Depression

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

See All 24 Things To Do in Kenya

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.

Nairobi, Kenya

Carnivore Restaurant

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

A set of amuse-bouches.

Nairobi, Kenya

Embark Restaurant

Farm-to-table East African-European cuisine is on the menu here.

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Animals 7

Museums 4

Africa 4

Hotels 3

Ecosystems 3

Unique Restaurants & Bars 2

Places To Stay 2

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Stories About Kenya

I spy someone lurking in the whistling thorn acacia trees.

Ants Are Swarming Kenya’s Trees and Changing Everything for Lions

Even the smallest insect can impact the largest animals.

by Jennifer Billock

February 1, 2024

Podcast: Ol Pejeta Rhino Cemetery

The memorial in Nanyuki, Kenya, might be one of the loveliest and saddest places on Earth.

by The Podcast Team

December 11, 2023

Hyenas and crocodiles dined on a waterside carcass together, caught via camera trap.

You Never Know Who Will Turn Up at an Elephant Carcass

Researchers in Kenya spied some unexpected guests at these “carrion bonanzas”

by Roxanne Hoorn

August 16, 2023

Macy skydiving in (above) Ohio.

Adventure Is Accessible When You Think Outside the Box

Meet the Wisconsin woman wheeling around the world.

by Gemma Tarlach

Two women pose wearing their intricate mporo necklaces.

Inside Kenya’s Women-Only Village Where Traditional Beaded Necklaces Are Symbols of Power

The women of Umoja no longer need a man to make their mporo marriage necklaces.

by Nora Wallaya

Some residents of western Kenya consider night runners to be supernatural menaces. Others consider them an annoyance.

The Mysterious, Naked Night Runners of Western Kenya

"When the wind blows you run away because you think it’s a night runner.”

Podcast: The Dedan Kimathi Post Office Tree

A strangler fig played a pivotal communication role for Kenya's freedom fighters.

by The Podcast Team

The "Ode to the Ancestors" exhibit features 28 previously unseen archival photograph, including this one, circa 1940, of the ruins of Gedi, the first ancient monument to be excavated in East Africa.

The Forgotten Kenyans Who Excavated Ancient Monuments

A new exhibition celebrates the African archaeologists and excavators omitted from historical records.

by Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing

February 24, 2023

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