Karura Forest #1: Intro, Info & Entry
The cache is hidden close to the main KFEET entrance of the forest, in a small grassy/bushy area just beyond the eastern end of the tennis courts. As usual take care to look out for muggles when undertaking your caching operations and please replace the cache well concealed - hopefully as you found it - making use of plentiful materials around the cache as required.
Karura Forest: This 1063 hectare urban upland forest just 15 minutes by car north of central Nairobi, is an amazing story of transformation. Once a notorious 'no-go' zone and bandit's hangout, where muggings, robbery and violence were common, it has become, through the sustained efforts of environmentalists and the Friends of Karura Forest, a beautiful and easily accessible place for residents of and visitors to this hectic city to relax in peaceful and safe surroundings.
It is where in 1997 the remarkable Professor Wangari Maathai (late leader of the Green Belt Movement 
and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate - see here) carried out a much publicised campaign for saving the forest from developers who tried to grab large portions of the north central section of the forest. The forest became a symbol of the fight against land-grabbing in Kenya.
Features
- KFEET Centre (Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust): an environmental learning, sport & recreation centre (this cache is nearby)
- Picnic site (near KFEET Centre overlooking Lily Lake)
- Abandoned stone quarry pond (see GC4PD8X Karura Forest #2: Lily Lake)
- Karura Forest Product Research Centre
- 15m waterfalls (see GC4PDAV Karura Forest #4: Waterfalls)
- Caves considered sacred by many and steeped in Kenyan history - where freedom fighters hid during the Independence struggle (see GC4PDAC Karura Forest #5: Mau Mau Caves)
- Old church
- Archaeological sites (recently excavated, artifacts being analyzed)
- Old chimney incinerator (used by the Central Bank up to mid-1990s to destroy decommissioned currency)
- Serene groves of primary & secondary indigenous trees, imported exotics (see GC4PDD3 Karura Forest #3: Spiny Kapok Tree)
and patches of bamboo forest
- Marshlands with rich bird life including winter migrants from Europe and Asia
- Wangari's corner - scene of the conservation battle
Wildlife (includes)
- Sykes & vervet monkeys (see GC4PDA0 Karura Forest #6: Monkey Business)
- Black & white Colobus monkeys (newly re-introduced - see here)
- Bush baby
- Bushbuck, Dik dik, Harvey's Duiker
- Bush pig
- Ground squirrel
- Porcupine
- Genet & civet cats
- Side-striped jackal (recently spotted with a critter-cam, see here)
- Epauletted bat
- Reptiles: include pythons, green snakes and monitor lizards
- Birds: 200+ species, including Ayres Hawk-eagle, the African Crowned Eagle, the Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Narina Trogon, Owls, Crested Cranes, Sparrows, Doves, Weavers and Vultures (see GC4PDEC Karura Forest #7: Turaco Terrain)
- Plants (over 550 species): see here for details of plantations, indigenous trees, shrubs and other plants
Activities
- Nature trail walking (50km of trails well signposted & junctions numbered) - printed map available at main gates
- Picnicking (new site close to KFEET Centre overlooking Lily Lake)
- Cycling trails (bikes can be hired at the KFEET Centre from 08h00-17h00)
- Camping
- Learning about nature
- Bird-watching
Access
- Getting there: the main entrance to Karura Forest (Gate A) is east of the Limuru Road just after the Belgian Embassy @ S01 14.829 E36 48.948. From here, one can access the main parking area at the KFEET Centre - near where this cache is located and a good place from which to start exploring the forest.
- Alternative entry points are: the Kenya Forest Service main gate which is off Kiambu road and opposite CID Headquaters @ S01 15.055 E36 50.769, or the Old Kiambu Gate B which is on Old Kiambu road @ S01 15.176 E36 50.612
- Opening hours: 06:00-18:00 daily
- Entrance fees (Kshs - all proceeds go to forest security, improvement and maintenance): Kenya/EAC Citizen: adult 100 child 40 Resident: adult 200 child 100 Non-resident: adult 600 child 300
- Parking: free inside Main Gates on Limuru Road, Old Kiambu Road, and Thigiri Lane At KFEET Centre: cars Kshs 100
Links
Detailed background information
Karura Forest Strategic Management Plan
Intro video: Nairobi's Green Space
Forest rehabilitation video
Friends of Karura Forest
Battlefield Karura - the fight to conserve the forest
FKF FB Page (some fine photos & interesting links)
kmz file download for Google Earth showing all the forest trails and points of interest