Three kilometers south of Nakuru town and 157 kilometers north-west of Nairobi . It was established in 1960 as a bird sanctuary, later becoming a national park in 1967. It is a shallow, alkaline lake on the bed of the Great Rift Valle-y with no outlet. The alkaline water favors the growth of blue-green algae which is the main food for one to two million lesser flamingoes, making the lake the greatest bird spectacle on earth where flocks of about 300,000 birds can be seen at one sighting.
Greater flamingoes feed on the crustacean in the lake. There are also over 400 species of other birds.
The lakeshores and hinterland abound with forest .and plain game like Black rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, common and Defassa waterbuck, Bohor reedbuck, baboons, Colobus monkeys, impala and recently a herd of Rothschild's giraffe translocated from Soi Farm near Eldoret to the park has become an added attraction.
Its impressive succulent euphorbia forest (Euphorbia ingens) in the east of the park, said to be the largest single euphorbia forest in Africa , is a true paradise to the botanists.
The park has been established as a special rhino sanctuary for 20-25 black rhinoceros.
From Lake Nakuru , visitors may branch off south-westwards to Masai-Mara National Reserve or continue westwards to Ruma National Park in South Nyanza.
