On the northern cusp of the Aberdare National Park, between waterways and waterfalls, the town of Nyahururu is a ticket to some of Kenya's stunning backcountry scenery. Treks and safaris are the things to do here, with visions of pink-tinted flamingos, reflective lakes, rolling plains, and craggy mountains all on the menu.

The piece de resistance of the town is certainly roaring Thomson's Falls. They sit just on the outskirts, gushing over jungle-dressed ridges through woods that teem with multicolored birds and creeping vines. There's a trail that wiggles right up to the cataract from the riverbed below, while visitors who head upstream can encounter one of the highest hippo-bathing pools in East Africa.

When you're done with the falls, Nyahururu tour guide will recommend jaunts to the carved and sinewy mountains of the Aberdares. A truly breathtaking (literally) section of the Great Rift Valley, they rise to 4,000 meters above sea level in a sea of bamboo forests and rainforests, hosting colobus monkeys, baboons, and jackals.