The Emakoko
A boutique, family-run lodge built into a cliffside on the edge of Nairobi National Park the easiest and most memorable way to start or end a Kenyan safari.
Location
Southern boundary, Nairobi National Park, Kenya
Camp Style
Owner-run boutique lodge, cliffside cottages
Best For
First/last night of safari, rhino, families
Accommodation
10 cottages + 1 private house
Season
Year-round
Our Take
Why We Recommend The Emakoko
Our Take
Why We Recommend The Emakoko
Most travellers see their first night in Kenya as just a formality a city hotel to rest in before the real safari begins. The Emakoko changed that for us. Only forty-five minutes after landing at JKIA, we were driving through Nairobi National Park, watching a rhino graze right from our veranda. Our safari had already begun.
- Genuine wilderness within a capital city - no suburban noise, no compromise
- 45 minutes from both JKIA and Wilson Airport, transferring through the park
- Four of the Big Five present, with strong odds of both black and white rhino
- Owner-hosted with a level of warmth that's hard to fake
- The only lodge in Kenya with its own funicular to the upper cottages
- Easy, no-extra-fee access to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Nursery
Camp Experience
A First Night That Doesn't Feel Like a Layover
The Camp
Cliffside Cottages, a River, and a Funicular
Ten ensuite cottages sit in two tiers – five at river level, five higher up the cliff, connected by a funicular the owner designed himself. Each has a private veranda facing the park, a deep bathtub and an open fireplace. The main lodge sits across a footbridge over the Mbagathi River, with a pool and bar below and a dining room built around an open fire above.
The Setting
A National Park Inside a Capital City
Nairobi National Park is 117 square kilometres of open plains and riverine forest with the city skyline visible on the horizon of almost every photograph. Four of the Big Five are present, including one of Kenya’s most important concentrations of both black and white rhino. The Emakoko sits on the quieter southern edge, backing onto the Kitengela Conservation Area where walking is possible in a way the fenced park doesn’t allow.
Firsthand
Our Firsthand Experience
Firsthand
Our Firsthand Experience
We arrived through the park’s East Gate on a transfer that still produced a distant lion sighting before we’d reached the lodge. We stayed in Room 10 – the uppermost cottage, reached by funicular, with a panoramic view down the valley that made the ride worth it every time.
What struck us most was the early-morning quiet. Guests here get a genuine head start on the day’s tour vehicles, and for an hour or two it felt closer to a private conservancy. We also used the lodge’s direct access to visit the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, it folded naturally into the morning drive rather than feeling like a separate excursion.
Pranav & Anita
Founders, Travel Africa & More
Accommodation
Stay at The Emakoko
Ten ensuite cottages and one private house, split between river level and the clifftop, connected by a funicular.
River-Level Cottage
Five cottages set at the base of the cliff, each with a deep bathtub, separate shower, open fireplace and a private veranda that looks straight over the Mbagathi River into the park.
Private veranda · bathtub & shower
· fireplace
Family Cottage
Two cottages set side by side with an interconnecting door – enough separation for parents, enough proximity to keep an eye on the kids.
Interconnecting rooms · sleeps up to 4 · shared veranda
The Private House
A two-bedroom house on the clifftop with its own plunge pool, private helicopter pad, and a dedicated chef who can cook in-house or send meals from the main lodge. Built for total privacy.
Two ensuite bedrooms · private pool · helicopter pad
Safari Experiences
What You Can Actually Do Here
Nairobi National Park sits minutes from the lodge and the Kitengela Conservation Area on its southern edge opens up experiences the park itself doesn’t permit.
Game Drives
Hiking & Wild Walks
Sheldrick Elephant Nursery
Bird Watching
Sundowners
Culinary Experience
Game Drives
Morning and afternoon drives into the park, tracking lion, both black and white rhino, buffalo, giraffe and plains game. Each group gets their own vehicle and guide – no sharing, no fixed circuit.
Hiking & Wild Walks
Sheldrick Elephant Nursery
A short drive from the lodge to watch orphaned elephants during their feeding and mud-bath session. No additional park entry is required for the excursion, though the Trust’s own entrance fee applies.
Bird Watching
With over 400 species recorded in the park, guided birding here is genuinely rewarding – raptors, kingfishers and seasonal migrants all reachable within minutes of the lodge.
Sundowners
Drinks within the park as the light softens over the plains and the city skyline catches the last of the sun. A strange and memorable place to end a game drive.
Culinary Experience
The Emakoko’s kitchen has a reputation that extends well beyond a convenient first night – seasonal, thoughtfully presented dishes, and a chilli dawa cocktail that has become something of a lodge signature.
Wildlife
Wildlife You May Encounter
Nairobi National Park is unfenced on its southern side, which keeps genuine wild populations moving through year-round including one of Kenya’s most important black rhino sanctuaries.
Lion
Black Rhino
White Rhino
Giraffe
Buffalo
Zebra
Conservation
More Than a Safari
Conservation fees go directly to Kenya Wildlife Service operations within Nairobi National Park, supporting one of Kenya’s most significant black and white rhino populations. The lodge sponsors Lion Lights installations in neighbouring communities – a low-tech deterrent that reduces livestock predation and retaliatory lion killing. Owner Anthony Childs’ work with the Taylor Ashe Antivenom Foundation has trained staff in safe snake relocation, and the lodge runs a community tree nursery and clean water project for the neighbouring village.
Getting There
Location & Access
Getting There
Location & Access
Nearest airports
Jomo Kenyatta International (JKIA) & Wilson Airport
Transfer time
45 minutes by 4x4, partly through the park itself
By road
Transfer available at any hour, including through the park at night
Access
Open all year
GPS
1°24'29.9"S, 36°52'43.3"E
Best Time to Visit
Seasons at The Emakoko
January – March
Warm and dry, with excellent light for photography. A reliable time for rhino and general game viewing.
April – May
The long rains. Fewer visitors and quieter roads, but afternoon downpours are common.
June – October
Dry season and Nairobi’s peak visitor months the park’s own high season, alongside the rest of Kenya’s.
November – December
Short rains clear quickly, leaving green plains and dramatic skies with fewer crowds than the dry season.
Our Recommendation
The Emakoko earns its place regardless of season – it’s a one- or two-night bookend to a longer safari, not a destination to time around wildlife movement. If you have flexibility, the dry season (June-October) gives the clearest roads and easiest early-morning game viewing before the day’s tour vehicles arrive.
Rates
Indicative Rates
From USD 760 ( PPPN )
Fully inclusive of accommodation, full board, soft drinks, house wines and beers, game drives, sundowners, walks in Kitengela Conservation Area, and airport transfers. Nairobi National Park entrance fees and premium drinks are charged separately.
*Indicative rate. Prices vary by season, room type and travel dates.
Travel Africa & More
Our Take
The Emakoko earns its place not because it’s convenient but because it’s genuinely good.
What We Love
The setting does something no other Nairobi property can – genuine wildlife, including rhino, immediately outside your room, inside city limits. The owner-hosted warmth is real, not performed, and the food is a legitimate reason to stay an extra night rather than just pass through.
What To Know
This is a boutique lodge, not a resort – there’s no spa building and the cliffside cottages involve a climb (or the funicular) that won’t suit every traveller. Nairobi National Park gets busy with tour traffic mid-morning; the best game viewing here is early.
Who We'd Send Here
Anyone opening or closing a Kenya safari who doesn’t want their first or last night to feel like a city hotel. Excellent for families, honeymooners after the cliffside cottages, and travellers who’d rather see a rhino on arrival than a hotel lobby.
How Long We'd Stay
One or two nights. It’s designed as a bookend rather than a base – enough time for an evening and a morning game drive, plus the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust if your timing allows.
Also Consider
Similar Camps
Giraffe Manor
Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi’s other famous first-night stop – breakfast alongside resident Rothschild’s giraffe.
House of Waine
Karen, Nairobi
A townhouse hotel in Karen for travellers who want Nairobi’s galleries and restaurants over another game .
Ol Donyo Lodge
Chyulu Hills, Kenya
Vast views and riding safaris a short flight from Nairobi a natural next stop after The Emakoko.
Questions
Before You Ask
The six things travellers ask us most about Naboisho.
1. Is The Emakoko suitable for families?
Yes. Interconnecting family cottages sleep up to four, and children of all ages are welcome in the main lodge (the Private House has a minimum age of five). Child-minding can be arranged with advance notice.
2. How many nights should we stay?
One or two. The Emakoko works best as a bookend to a longer Kenyan safari rather than a standalone stay – enough for an evening game drive, a morning drive, and possibly a Sheldrick Wildlife Trust visit.
3. What wildlife can we expect?
Four of the Big Five, with genuinely strong odds of seeing both black and white rhino. Elephant do not occur in Nairobi National Park, which is worth knowing in advance.
4. Can we visit the Sheldrick Elephant Nursery from here?
Yes – it’s a short drive from the lodge and can be folded into a morning game drive. The Trust’s own entrance fee applies separately.
5. Is the park crowded?
Early mornings are quiet; by mid-to-late morning, day-trip tour vehicles from Nairobi arrive and the main circuits get busier. The park is large enough, with enough picnic areas, to find space if your guide knows where to look.
6. How do we get there?
A 45-minute 4×4 transfer from either JKIA or Wilson Airport, driving partly through Nairobi National Park itself – so the safari begins before you’ve reached the lodge.
Could This Be Your Africa?
Tell us what you’re looking for, and we’ll tell you honestly whether this lodge belongs in your journey.
