The forest is home to some 200 species of bird as well as suni, Harveys Duiker, bushbucks, bush pigs, genets, civets, honey badgers, bush babies, porcupines, Syke's monkeys, bush squirrels, hares, fruit bats and various reptiles and butterflies.

Other important attractions that visitors to Karura Forest enjoy are: Mau Mau caves, Scenic waterfalls and rivers, Picnic sites, Marked walking trails, Small wetlands that are habitats for birds, The incinerator formerly used by Central Bank of Kenya to burn old currency notes, The area about which the late Professor Wangari Maathai carried out a campaign against illegal acquisition of forest land