Meet and feed the giraffes at the Giraffe Centre Nairobi

• To look into the eye of a giraffe is to feel, briefly, the grace of the natural world looking back.

The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife's Giraffe Centre in Karen is one of Nairobi's most beloved and internationally celeb rated attractions and for a very good reason. Established in 1979 by Jock and Betty Leslie-Melville, the Centre was founded specifically to protect the critically endangered Rothschild giraffe, and over four decades of work has made it one of the continent's most successful wildlife conservation and breeding programmes. Vard Africa offers private, guided visits to the Centre outside of peak visiting hours ensuring an unhurried, deeply personal encounter with these extraordinary animals, combined with a comprehensive briefing on the Centre's conservation mission and the wider challenges facing Africa's giraffe populations.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• Private guided visit with a dedicated Vard specialist and Giraffe Centre conservationist.
• Hand-feeding of the Centre's resident Rothschild giraffes from the elevated feeding platform one of the most joyful wildlife encounters in Kenya.
• Expert conservation briefing on the Rothschild giraffe's status, the Centre's reintroduction programme, and how guests can contribute to its work.
• Access to the Centre's resident warthog family, who wander freely through the grounds with supreme nonchalance.
• The legendary 'giraffe kiss' one of the most photographed wildlife moments in Africa.

WHY IT STANDS OUT

The Giraffe Centre provides a conservation experience of genuine depth combined with the pure, uncomplicated joy of feeding one of Africa's most beautiful and improbable animals from your own hand. It is a combination found nowhere else and it consistently ranks among the most memorable experiences guests have in Kenya, regardless of what spectacular wilderness they encounter subsequently.

PRACTICAL TIPS - ACCESSIBILITY & SUITABILITY

The Centre is open daily and located in Karen, approximately 20 minutes from central Nairobi. Vard Africa arranges private visits during early morning hours for the most peaceful and uncrowded experiences. Suitable for all ages and mobility levels. The elevated feeding platform is fully ac cessible. Best combined with a visit to the Giraffe Manor or Karen Blixen Museum.

WHY IT'S A VARD ESSENTIAL

Conservation is at the heart of the Kenya Vard experience and the Giraffe Centre brings this to life in the most immediate, personal, and joyful way imaginable. Every pellet fed to a giraffe supports a programme that has helped save a subspecies from extinction.

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Vard note: VARD INSIDER NOTE: Vard Africa can curate a full 'Nairobi Highlands Food Trail' day combining a morning at the Kiambethu Tea Farm, a coffee tasting at the Karunguru or Fairview Estate, and an afternoon at Browns Cheese Farm, concluding with a farm picnic as the sun sets over the Ngong Hills. This is one of our most requested Nairobi day experiences. DID YOU KNOW? Kenya's dairy industry is one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa, with the country producing approximately 5.2 billion litres of milk annually. The sector supports the livelihoods of an estimated one million smallholder farmers and their families across the country's highlands.