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Kenya's finest Attraction sites

Ruma National Park

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Ruma National Park is the only Terestial Park in the entire Nyanza Province. It was initially established as the Lambwe Valley Game Reserve in 1966 to protect its indigenous population of rare roan antelopes which exist nowhere else in Kenya. In 1983 it was gazetted as a National Park. Namely Ruma N. Park

It was renamed “Ruma” upon request of the local community. The area had been so named by one of Kenya’s most powerful wizard, the much feared Gor Mahia who lived around the park. The park is largely of black cotton soil with surrounding area settled with a mix of small scale cultivation and grassy pasture land.

Location

The Park lies in Western Kenya close to the shores of Africa’s largest inland lake, Lake Victoria. It is situated in Lambwe Valley in South Nyanza, 140 km from Kisumu, 10 km east of Lake Victoria and South West of Homa Bay and 425 km west of Nairobi.

It lies on the flat floor of the Lambwe Valley, bordered by the kanyamwa escarpment to the south east, Gwassi Hills, Sumba hill and ruri hills to the north.

The Park covers an area of 120 square kilometers.

CLIMATE

Hot and humid, mean annual rainfall is 1200 – 1600mm. The park has a humid climate, the long rains falling April-June and the short rains falling October-December

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS

Roan antelope which is found nowhere else in the country.

Wildlife – Roan antelope, black rhinos,leopard, buffalo, hyena, Rothschild's giraffe, oribi, Jackson and lelwel hartebeest, impala, bohor reedbuck, serval cat,  topi, baboons, vervet monkey, honey badgers, bush pig and many more.

Birds – The Park is an IBA area with over 400 species of birds recorded. It is renowned amongst ornithologists for its rare intra - African migrant, the blue swallow.

The Park provides an unspoiled world for game lovers, bird watchers, tranquility and peace for meditation, historians, campers, team building, picnic, sundowners and scenic beauty.

Activities

Game viewing, bird watching, picnic, camping, team building, meditation, sight seeing, sundowner.

Vegetation

The Park is a classic image of East Africa with a land of rolling golden savanna dotted with picturesque acacias backed by dramatic hills and magnificent escarpment.

It also has unique mosaic of riverine woodland and balanties trees.

Mt Elgon

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Rising from the jungles that border Uganda, Mt Elgon is an impressively craggy extinct Volcano. This remote region makes for interesting trekking through deep forest and across broad moorlands.
There is plenty of wildlife and plenty to discover. The peaks are ideal for climbing, and shelter a series of warm geothermal springs.
The mountain has many caves for the visitor explore. In these caves, known collectively as Elkony, ancient cave paintings decorate the walls, and bats and rock hyrax are found among the winding passageways.
The most famous cave of all is Kitum, where each night Elephant herds gather and begin a slow procession deep into the mountain. The elephants make their way through the caves, following well worn paths made by generations before them. Deep in the cave, they use their tusks to excavate the walls, seeking the natural salt which they lick from the scarred rock.
Witnessing this incredible sight is just one of the many wonders of Elgon....

Mt. Elgon is located 420 kms from Nairobi. Access is via tarmac road to Kitale, branch to murram road then to the Chorlim Gate

CLIMATE

  • The climate is moist to moderate dry. Annual rainfall is over 1,270mm

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS

  • Caves
  • Salt Mining Elephants of Kitum Cave
  • Spectacular Waterfall
  • Game Viewing around the Mountain
  • Birdwatching
  • Viewing the mountain

WILDLIFE

  • Elephant, leopard, giant forest hog, bushbuck, buffalo, duiker, black and white colobus, blue monkeys and golden cat, among others.
  • More than 240 bird species in the area, including the African crowned eagle, Ross’ turaco, and red-fronted  parrot.

BIRDS

  •   340 bird species have been recorded, of which 230 are forest dependant, while 110 are forest specialist.

 

Lake Baringo

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Lake Baringo is at the threshold of Northern Kenya, and its freshwaters are an oasis in the arid plains.

This is the traditional home of the Njemps tribe, a unique people who are the only pastoral, cattle herding, tribe who also fish. Among other pastoral tribes such as the Maasai, eating fish is a taboo.

The 129 sq km lake is well stocked with fish, and attracts many Pelicans, Cormorants and Fish Eagles. The Lake is also well populated with Crocodile.

The lake itself is truly beautiful, surrounded by volcanic ranges that stretch as far as the eye can see.

At the lakes heart is Ol Kokwe Island, a stark rocky island that is home to Njemps villages and a well appointed camp. This is an excellent base for exploring the lake, with boat trips ideal for bird and hippo spotting.

Baringo is an ideal stopover on a safari to Northern Kenya.

Lake Bogoria

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At the beginning of Kenya’s great Northern Wilderness lies Lake Bogoria.

The lake is the heart of an arid landscape, in the shadow of the dramatic walls of the Siracho Range. The soda waters of the lake attract massive flocks of Flamingo, and the lake is often carpeted with pink.

The 32 sq km lake is still volcanically active, and the Western shore is lined with spouting geysers, spurting steam and bubbling geothermal pools. Fresh water springs at the lake edge attract an abundance of birds and wildlife.

There are many Fish Eagles, which often prey on the local flamingos.

The shores are always lined with Gazelle, Zebra, Baboons and this is one of the best places to see Greater Kudu...

 

Kit-Mikayi

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Kit-Mikayi is a rock formation, around 40 m high situated about 29 km west of the town of Kisumu in western Kenya. It is about 1 km from the Kisumu-Bondo road. The sign board is on the gate of Kit Mikayi primary school and entrance is via N’gop-Ngeso primary school.

Kit-mikayi means "the stone of the first woman", or "stone of the first wife", in the Luo language.

Legends

The legend behind Kit Mikayi, which in Luo dialect means "the stone of the first wife", is that: Long time ago, there was an old man by the name Ngeso who was in great love with the stone. Every day when he woke up in the morning, he could walk into the cave inside the stone and stay there the whole day, and this could force his wife to bring him breakfast and lunch every day. The old man became passionately in love with this stone to the extent that when people asked his wife his whereabouts, she would answer that he has gone to his first wife (Mikayi) hence the stone of the first wife (Kit Mikayi).

An explanation of the shape of this unique stone is that the structure represents the Luo cultural polygamous family which had the first wife’s house (Mikayi) built further in between on the right hand side was the second wife’s house (Nyachira) while the third wife’s house (Reru) was built on the left hand side of the homestead. This rock also is seen to have a nuclear family whereby the father (Ngeso) being the middle stone followed by the bulky Mikayi (first wife), then Nyachira (second wife) followed by Reru (third wife) and further in front they have the child which is representing Simba (which is the house for the first born boy in the homestead). From a long time, this stone has been a sacred place for the villagers to worship in times of trouble.

Significance

Locals living around the stones are known as the Luo-Kakello clan. The site is associated with sacrifices and many legends from pre-Christian times, especially stories explaining the meaning of the name.

Kit-Mikayi is a regional point of sightseeing interest, especially among the neighbouring Luo tribes. It also has become a popular local pilgrimage site for followers of the Legio Maria sect who come to the rock to pray and fast for several weeks at a time.

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