The Atlas Obscura Guide To Kenya

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

Updated August 16, 2023

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Unusual Attractions in Kenya

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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.

Malindi, Kenya

Marafa Depression

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

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.”

See All 22 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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Unique Restaurants & Bars 2

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Stories About Kenya

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

Nicknamed Nalangu, this leopard had just finished feeding her cub when she took a moment to stretch at the bottom of a river bed. Leopards can prove especially challenging to photograph because they're mostly active at night.

Kenya’s Maasai Mara Wildlife Reserve Is a Photographer’s Playground

At least while the lions behave.

February 6, 2023

Podcast: African Heritage House

The story behind one of the greatest collections of African art in the world.

by The Podcast Team

November 14, 2022

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