Tourism in Kenya has seen steady growth since independence. The sector slowed down in the 1990s, but it is currently the country's largest foreign exchange earner, followed by flowers, tea and coffee.
Many travelers who visit Kenya are safari-bound tourists who come to visit the various tourist attractions in the country. African safari is what Kenya is renowned for and thus has come to be known as the heart of the African safari.
Kenya has diverse wildlife and spectacular landscapes. The country occupies an area of 580,367 square kilometers, out of which approximately 44,359 square kilometers or 7.5 percent is wildlife conservation area.
The protected areas embrace various types of ecosystems namely: forests, wetlands, Savannah, mountains, marine, arid and semi-arid. The protected areas comprise of 23 terrestrial National Parks, 28 terrestrial National Reserves, 4 marine National Parks, 6 marine National Reserves and 4 national sanctuaries.
Some of the wildlife that can be seen in the National Parks and Reserves are lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, wildebeests, zebras, kudus, elands, gerenuks, hyenas, baboons, Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, giraffes, topis, bush bucks, water-bucks, leopards, cheetahs, hippos, crocodiles and more than 1070 species of birds.
A Leopard On A Tree With A Kill (enlarge)