Attraction · Nairobi
The Giraffe Centre
A breeding programme for an endangered giraffe subspecies that happens to have a raised platform, which puts you at eye level with an animal five metres tall.
Time needed45 – 60 minutes
Best timeEarly morning
WhereLang’ata, west of the park
Founded1979
The animalRothschild’s giraffe
SuitsFamilies, and jet-lagged arrivals
About
The Giraffe Centre
The Giraffe Centre was set up in 1979 to breed Rothschild’s giraffe, a subspecies that had been reduced to a very small remnant population in western Kenya, and to release the young into protected areas. It is run by a Kenyan conservation trust and it admits visitors because that is how it is funded, which is a different proposition from a zoo. What visitors get is a raised wooden platform built at the height of a giraffe’s head, so that the animals come to it and you are looking one in the eye rather than up at it — an experience that turns out to be completely unlike watching giraffe from a vehicle. There is a small nature sanctuary attached, a forest walk, and warthogs wandering the grounds. It takes under an hour, it asks nothing of a traveller who has just come off a night flight, and it is the single most reliable thing in Nairobi with children.
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What to See
What to see and do
One platform, one walk, and an education centre. It is small and that is the point.
The platform
- The raised feeding platform, built at giraffe head height, where the resident animals come to be fed pellets by hand.
- The chance to look at the head closely — the ossicones, the eyelashes, the tongue, which is around forty-five centimetres long and dark on top as sun protection.
- The staff, who are conservation educators rather than attendants and who will answer real questions if you ask them.
The grounds
- A short self-guided forest walk in the adjoining nature sanctuary, which is genuinely quiet and takes about twenty minutes.
- Warthog families that wander the grounds freely and are entirely uninterested in visitors.
- A viewing deck looking out over the trees toward the Ngong Hills.
The conservation story
- Why Rothschild’s giraffe needed a breeding programme, and where the young from here have been released.
- The education centre, which is aimed at Kenyan schoolchildren rather than at visitors and is more interesting for it.
- The trust’s wider work, which is worth asking about and is not advertised at you.
Getting There
Getting there
In the Lang’ata suburb, next door to Karen, on the western side of Nairobi National Park.
From Nairobi
- Thirty to sixty minutes by car from the city centre depending entirely on traffic, and considerably less from a Karen or Lang’ata hotel.
- Ride-hailing apps reach it without difficulty; a car with a driver for the whole morning is the usual arrangement.
- It is on the opposite side of the national park from Jomo Kenyatta airport, which matters when planning the last morning.
Combining it
- With the elephant orphanage a few minutes away, whose public viewing hour is short and fixed — that hour is the fixed point the morning is built around.
- With the Karen Blixen Museum, ten minutes away, which is the natural third stop.
- With an early game drive in Nairobi National Park, which finishes in time to reach here comfortably.
Practicalities
- Tickets are bought at the gate; pellets for feeding are included in the entry.
- It opens in the morning and closes in the late afternoon, with the animals most active early.
- There is a café and a shop, and parking at the gate.
Best Time
When to visit
Early, before the coaches and the school groups, and before the giraffe have had enough of being fed.
Time of day
- The first hour after opening. The animals are hungriest, the platform is empty and the light through the trees is best.
- Mid-morning brings school groups and tour buses, and the platform becomes a queue.
- Late afternoon is quieter again, though the giraffe have been fed all day by then and are less interested.
Time of year
- It works in every season; this is a small site with trees and it is not weather-dependent in the way a game drive is.
- June to October is cool and bright — pleasant, and the safari high season, so busier.
- April and May are the long rains, which make the forest walk muddy and everything else the same.
How long
- Forty-five minutes to an hour covers the platform, the forest walk and the education centre.
- Half an hour is enough if it is only the platform, which is what most groups do.
- It fits into a morning with the elephant orphanage and the Blixen house without any of the three feeling rushed.
Visitor Intelligence
Visitor intelligence
A small, well-run site with a few things worth knowing before you stand on the platform.
On the platform
- Hold the pellet flat on an open palm. The tongue does the rest and it is wetter than anyone expects.
- Do not stand between an animal and the rail, and keep bags closed — the giraffe are gentle but they are curious and very tall.
- The staff will tell you which animals are which and what their histories are if you ask, and most visitors do not.
Photography
- The platform puts you at head height, which is the shot — a giraffe portrait from the front, at eye level, is not available anywhere else.
- The background is forest, which is dark; expose for the animal rather than the trees.
- Ask before photographing other visitors, and be aware that the platform is small and everyone is in everyone’s frame.
Conservation and expectations
- This is a breeding and education programme, not a wildlife park — there is no other game here and there is no drive.
- The giraffe are habituated and semi-free-ranging within the sanctuary; they come to the platform because they want to.
- It is not a substitute for seeing giraffe in the wild, and it is a better close look than you will ever get in one.
Families and access
- This is the most reliable thing in Nairobi with children, and it works on adults who thought it would not.
- The platform is reached by a flight of wooden steps with a handrail; there is no lift and no level alternative to it.
- The grounds and café are level and easy; the forest walk is a rough path.
Nearby
Nearby
Everything in the Karen and Lang’ata morning is within ten minutes.
The Karen Blixen Museum
Ten minutes away — the farmhouse at the foot of the Ngong Hills, and the natural third stop.
Nairobi
The city itself — the national park, the museums and the safari airports.
The elephant orphanage
A few minutes away, with a short fixed public viewing hour that the morning is built around. No page of its own.
Nairobi National Park
The other side of the fence — rhino, lion and the city skyline behind them. No page of its own yet.
Good to Know
Frequently asked
It is a conservation programme rather than an attraction with animals in it. It was founded in 1979 to breed Rothschild’s giraffe, a subspecies reduced to a very small remnant population, and to release young animals into protected areas; it is run by a Kenyan trust and it admits visitors because that is part of how it is funded. The giraffe range freely within an attached sanctuary and come to the platform of their own accord. It is a reasonable thing to ask about, and the staff will answer it properly.
Forty-five minutes to an hour covers the feeding platform, the short forest walk in the nature sanctuary and the education centre. Half an hour is enough if you only want the platform, which is what most groups do. It fits comfortably into a Karen morning alongside the elephant orphanage — whose public viewing hour is short and fixed, and is the thing the rest of the morning has to be arranged around — and the Karen Blixen Museum.
A subspecies distinguished most visibly by having no markings below the knee, so it appears to be wearing white socks. It was reduced to a very small population in western Kenya and is the reason this centre exists: animals bred here have been released into protected areas around the country. Whether it is a full subspecies is a live taxonomic argument, which the staff will happily explain and which does not change the conservation case.
It is the most reliable thing in Nairobi with children, and it works on adults who arrived sceptical. The platform puts a five-metre animal at your eye level and hand-feeding it takes no explanation and no patience. It is short, it is shaded, it has a café, and it asks nothing of anyone who has just come off an overnight flight — which is why it so often ends up on the first morning of a family safari.
Yes, with the usual Nairobi caveat about traffic. It is in Lang’ata, thirty to sixty minutes from the city centre depending on the hour and much less from a Karen or Lang’ata hotel. Ride-hailing reaches it without difficulty, though a car with a driver for the whole morning is the normal arrangement since you will be doing two or three stops. Note that it is on the opposite side of the national park from the international airport.
The grounds, café and shop are level and easy. The feeding platform itself is reached by a flight of wooden steps with a handrail and there is no lift or level alternative, so it is not accessible to anyone who cannot manage stairs — which is the whole point of the visit, so it is worth knowing in advance. The forest walk is a rough unpaved path.
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