Nairobi's hidden gems

Kenya ranks among the leading tourist destinations in Africa. With numerous parks that offer wildlife viewing as the main attraction, Kenya also has a spectacular 536-kilometer coastline in addition to other hospitality offerings that make it a choice for many tourists.

As a result, most visitors might be eager to visit the world famous sites like the Maasai Mara to witness the wildebeest migration. Others may opt to watch the elephant, lion, rhino, leopard and buffalo, locally known as the "Big Five", among the hundreds of other animal species that exist in the renowned Amboseli national park.

This notwithstanding, Kenya's capital city of Nairobi has some spectacular yet little known tourist destinations that one can easily miss if their eyes are fixed only on the big game. In addition, as the city establishes itself as a leading conference tourism destination in Africa, these gems hidden around the city are best suited for such visitors.

Without having to travel far from the city, such visitors can take a short drive and enjoy Kenya's rich tourism resources.

One such attraction is the Giraffe Centre. Located approximately 10 km from the city center, the Giraffe Centre offers visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with these tall and friendly giants. Visitors can use an elevated feeding platform that allows them to hand feed the giraffes.

They get to see, close at hand, how the giraffe uses its long prehensile tongue to strip leaves from acacia branches. The center also has a curio shop and a 2-km nature trail.

Another overlooked but refreshing site for visitors in Nairobi is the climb to the Kenyatta International Conference Center, or KICC, rooftop for a scenic view of the city.

Despite the city having several vantage points from which its skyline can be viewed, the KICC rooftop is unmatched. Once the tallest building in Nairobi, the KICC rooftop, which also doubles up as a helipad, offers a 360-degree view of the city spanning from the central business district to the city horizon in all directions.

This panoramic view of the city is easily accessible since it is at the heart of the central business district. Besides being used for viewing, it has become a haven for journalists, artists and performers who delight in the perfect angles it provides for photo and video shoots at sunrise and sunset.

A stone's throw from the KICC rooftop sits another tourist destination hides in plain sight.

Situated at the edge of the central business district in downtown Nairobi, the Kenya National Archives houses the Murumbi Gallery which is considered the largest Pan-African art gallery in Africa, and it contains ancient art collections from different regions and communities of Africa.

Established in 1965 just after Kenya gained its independence, the Kenya National Archives also holds more than 40,000 volumes of public records including archival material, many once confidential, of the colonial and post-colonial governments of Kenya.