Nakuru lies on the floor of the Rift Valley at about 1,850 metres, a bustling farming and market city that serves a rich agricultural region. It has about 260,000 people, so everything is here: fuel, banks, hotels, workshops, supermarkets. The name comes from a Maasai word meaning place of dust, and in the dry season you can see why. Beside the town lies Lake Nakuru, a shallow soda lake that is protected as a national park, and it is famous for the flocks of flamingos that feed on the algae in the water, sometimes in hundreds of thousands, though numbers vary with the water level.
The park is one of the best in Kenya for seeing rhinos, both black and white, as well as Rothschild's giraffes, buffalo and lions, and leopards in the acacia woods. A fence encloses it, which makes it a safer and smaller place than the big savannah parks, and it is easy to visit in half a day. The lake level has risen strongly in recent years, flooding roads and changing the flamingo patterns, so conditions vary.
The road into Nakuru from Nairobi is a major highway, and the escarpment section is the finest part, with steep climbs, long descents and sweeping views of the volcanic landscape. Heavy trucks carrying goods to Uganda use it, and the road has a poor reputation for accidents, so overtake with great care and avoid riding at night. Surface quality changes: patches of excellent tarmac give way to potholes and broken edges. Weather is generally pleasant, although afternoon thunderstorms are common in the wet seasons.
For food, Nakuru is a place to try Kenyan staples: roast goat or beef, chapati, sukuma wiki, a dish of braised greens, and sweet milky chai. Markets sell fresh vegetables, and the district is known for its farms. The surrounding hills have extinct volcanoes, such as Menengai, with a huge crater that can be visited for a view over the whole valley. As a finish, the town is an easy place to rest, with plenty of places to sleep, and the wildlife of the lake is a few minutes away.