Arabuko Sokoke National Park Excursion – About 6 kilometers from Watamu there is a vast forest with many species of butterfly animals and birds where you can admire them up close.

It is the largest indigenous forest in the whole of East Africa and allows for a completely different experience than that of a Safari.

It is populated by over 270 species of migratory birds, some very rare and endemic, such as the Clarke’s Weaver, the Amani Sunbird, the East Coast Akalat, as well as reptiles and amphibians.

Some mammals also live there, such as the African elephant, buffalo, Syke’s monkeys and yellow baboons, however not easily sighted due to the type of vegetation.

Inside there are three varieties of different landscapes: there is a predominantly wooded area, a more airy one with woods called “Brachistegia” and mixed forest, with dense vegetation that creates a beautiful tropical atmosphere.

If you are lucky you can also see elephants and dikdiks. The forest is the ideal place to go to see various birds, butterflies and animals but also to enjoy a magnificent sunset.
Arabuko Sokoke National Park, is about 5 kilometers from Watamu is a vast forest with many species of butterfly animals and birds where you can admire them up close.

If you are lucky you can also see elephants and dikdik. Arabuko Sokoke National Park is the ideal post to go see the various birds, butterflies and animals but also enjoy a magnificent sunset.

Arabuko Sokoke National Park (from kiswahili “narrow / dense forest”) is a national park on the Kenyan coast which is about 110 km from the city of Mombasa, 10 km from the city of Malindi and 5 from the village of Watamu.
Description

The national park is spread over an area of 6 km² and is only a small portion of the Arabuko Sokoke National Park (420 km²), the largest coastal rainforest in East Africa.

This part of the forest, already included in the English Crown Forest Protectorate in 1943, was declared a national park in 1980.
Flora and fauna

The Arabuko Sokoke National Park is made up of various areas with more or less dense vegetation depending on the area and is the natural habitat of many species of small and large endemic animals such as, for example, the dwarf elephant of the Arabuko-Sokoke, the Arabuko Sokoke National Park cat and the Arabuko Sokoke National park elephant shrew. In addition to the aforementioned species, many colonies of monkeys, in particular baboons, and buffaloes can be found.

For the watering of animals in the driest seasons, the Kenya Wildlife Service, with the help of funding from private individuals, has created an artificial pool where, in the evening hours, several groups of elephants can be seen.

Arabuko Sokoke National Park is the destination of many birdwatchers every year as it is a transit point for many species of migratory birds and offers a multitude of endemic bird species such as, for example, Clark’s weaver, Amani’s Nectarine and the pipit of Sokoke.