Dodori national reserve is situated east of Lamu County in Kenya, covering an area of about 877 square kilometers squared, the reserve is famous for its beautiful sand beaches and unique culture. The reserve derives its name from a river that flows to the Indian Ocean. The Dodori Creek is a breeding place for dugongs.
Dodori National Reserve was established in 1977 and is characterized by swamps, grasslands, savannahs, forests, thorny bushes, mangroves, gigantic baobabs, and coastal beaches. The park has been highly recognized by international organizations as an important cultural heritage area; UNESCO also recognized it as a biosphere reserve in 1980.
Dodori national reserve tourism has greatly been slowed down, as the reserve, together with the neighboring Boni, is a hideout for rebel groups known as al-Shabaab, who currently attacked tourists in the park in 2010, this has led to a dramatic decline in tourism within the reserve, as tourists fear to come again but the Kenyan government is trying to make the security more available to avoid such occurrences in the area.
Activities at Dodori national reserve
Game viewing
Dodori game reserve is renowned for its high population of Topis the numbers here are more than in any other part of Kenya, adders, duikers, zebras, gazelles, lesser kudus, lions, leopards, sea turtles, sea cows, dugongs.
Birdwatching
Dodori national reserve has got a wide range of aquatic birds mostly found on the water areas some of the examples are violet-breasted sunbird, Carmine bee eaters, blue-hooded kingfishers, honey buzzards, southern banded harrier eagles, palmnut vultures, and brown-breasted barbets.
Cultural experience
The coastal people have a very rich history about their towns and slavery, visiting the people and knowing their way of life and history would make your stay complete and also get some gifts from the craft shops to take back home.
Where to stay
There are currently no accommodation sectors within the reserve but can be found in the neighboring towns some of the lodges are; alliance safari beach hotel, Diani reef beach resort, Almanara luxury lodge, Finch Hatton’s camp, diamonds dream of Africa and many more.
How to get there
Dodori national game reserve is bordered by Boni national reserve; it’s approximately 280 kilometers north of Mombasa. The creek can be reached by water through a boat.
Best time to visit
The reserve has got a humid and hot climate, making it possible to visit all year round but the roads are very remote and inaccessible during the rainy seasons; a four-wheel-drive car might be needed.
