Western Kenya travel guide
Places to visit in Western Kenya
Maasai Mara National Reserve
Extending over 1,510 sq km (580 sq miles) abutting the Tanzania border, the Maasai Mara National Reserve is one of the most famous protected areas in Africa, and it indisputably ranks among the continent’s Top Five wildlife viewing destinations.
Few places in Africa support such a profusion of wildlife. Its trademark handsome blond-maned lions are encountered on most game drives, and most people spending three days or longer in the reserve will see leopard and cheetah. Elephant herds march across the savannah in purposeful processions, tusks glowing white in the tropical sun. Panicked warthogs scurry away, tails comically erect, at the approach of a vehicle. Topis, with their long mournful faces, stand sentinel on termite mounds, or sunbathe with their chins resting lazily on the ground. Regally horned impalas mill between herds of gazelle, while groups of eland, the world’s largest antelope, cling skittishly to the horizon. Towering giraffe glide between the acacias, fluttering their eyelids at passing 4x4s, while buffalo stare down all comers with an unfathomable mix of inquisitiveness and machismo. Above all, there is the endless drama of the wildebeest migration, which crosses over from Tanzania to take up residence in the Mara for a few months every year, usually between July and October.
Also known as the Maasai Mara (or once you feel sufficiently familiar, just the Mara), this unfenced national reserve in southwest Kenya is effectively a northern extension of Tanzania’s equally famous and much larger Serengeti National Park, with which it shares its southern boundary. The Mara is bounded by the Loita Hills in the east, the splendid Oloololo Escarpment to the west, and the Itong Hills, below the Mau Escarpment, in the north. But the reserve itself is relatively flat, comprising open plains of red oat grass, and gently rolling hills mottled with groves of whistling thorns and other species of spiky Acacia tree.
Mount Elgon National Park
Tel: 020 600 0800
Northwest of Eldoret, Mount Elgon dominates the horizon, at least on the rare occasions when it is not shrouded in cloud. Elgon is around 880 metres (3,000ft) short of Mount Kenya in terms of altitude, but the circumference of its base makes it a bigger massif. The upper slopes of this extinct volcano support a cover of lush montane forest giving way to moorland at higher altitudes, and are protected within Mount Elgon National Park, one of the country’s least developed sanctuaries.
The dense tall forest and a lack of roads inhibit game viewing on the mountain, but it is possible to hike up to the summit, across moorlands of giant heather. Mount Elgon Lodge, a converted farmhouse with wonderful views, midway between Kitale and the peak, makes a serviceable base, though the recently refurbished self-catering Kapkuro Bandas at the park entrance are much better value. There is also a campsite.
Saiwa Swamp National Park
Tel: 020 600 0800
About 30km (18 miles) northeast of Kitale, Saiwa Swamp National Park is Kenya’s smallest, at only 300 hectares (740 acres). It was opened in 1974 to protect the semi-aquatic sitatunga antelope, notable for its wide-splayed hooves which allow it to walk on the soggy surface of the swamp. Though it is not teeming with big game, Saiwa is also home to several other forest and swamp dwellers. These include the De Brazza’s monkey, which (like the sitatunga) has a very limited distribution in East Africa, along with the African clawless otter, giant forest squirrel, black-and-white colobus, bushbuck and grey duiker.
Unusually for a national park, Saiwa can be explored only on foot. A nature trail runs through the heart of the park, incorporating a long footbridge across the swamp, and several elevated viewing platforms overlooking it. The most productive spot for wildlife viewing is Platform Four, where you are almost certain to see sitatunga if you arrive before 8am, and might also glimpse African clawless otters and De Brazza’s monkeys. The birdlife here, generally most active between 8am and 10am, is amazing: Saiwa is the best place in Kenya to look for the spectacular Ross’s turaco, the secretive grey-winged robin-chat (sometimes seen on the footpath close to Platform Four) and the yellow-billed barbet, while other specials include the double-toothed barbet, blue-headed coucal, crowned crane and black sparrowhawk.
Kakamega Forest Reserve
Tel: 072 695 1764 or 077 180 6284
Not far from the town is the Kakamega Forest, a jungle-like centre of significant ecological interest since it is a relic of the equatorial rainforest which once spread from West Africa to the East African coast. Though it lies somewhat off the main tourist trail, Kakamega is an increasingly popular destination for butterfly lovers, birdwatchers and other specialists looking for species more normally associated with central and west Africa. Sykes monkey and black-and-white colobus are both very common, and overnight visitors with a spotlight stand a good chance of picking out the nocturnal potto, a sloth-like primate distantly related to the better-known bushbabies. In addition, around 10 percent of the reserve’s 300 bird species occur nowhere else in Kenya, most alluringly perhaps the great blue turaco, flocks of which fly clumsily between the trees like psychedelic turkeys.
Around 200 sq km (72 sq miles) of undisturbed forest remains, divided into the two main sectors. These are the Kakamega National Reserve, which falls under KWS and lies to the north of Kakamega on the east side of the Webuye Road, and the Kakamega Forest Reserve, which falls under the Department of Forestry and lies to the east of town along a dirt road through Isecheno. The forest reserve is generally regarded to offer the best birding, and it is also where the bulk of the accommodation lies, including the upmarket Rondo Retreat and delightful but affordable Forest Rest House and delightful but affordable Forest Rest House. However, dedicated birders will also want to check out the national reserve, which protects a slightly different selection of bird species, and has a small banda and camping site.
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is not only the largest lake in Africa, but also the second-largest freshwater body anywhere in the world, extending over some 68,500 sq km (26,500 sq miles), an area comparable to that of the Republic of Ireland. Shared between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the lake supports several million people, including the Luo of Kenya, many of whom are still fishermen. Dunga is one of many places on the lake where you can see their fleets of traditional fishing dhows, whose white lateen sails, set against a deep blue background, appear to be out of the romantic myths of the Sinbad coast. And there is, in fact, a connection to the coast, dating back to the time when the Arab slavers were marauding around Victoria, building boats for the lake in the same style as their dhows on the ocean.
A good place to watch the fishing dhows in action is the small town of Kendu Bay, about an hour’s drive south of Kisumu. Try to be at the out-of-town jetty at noon, when dozens of dhows land there, complete with the day’s catch. Kendu Bay boasts two other diverting attractions. The first is a handsome and surprisingly large Tawakal Mosque, set along the road between the town centre and the jetty. The other, about 2km (1 mile) south of town, is Simbi Nyaima, a pretty green crater lake whose shallows occasionally support large numbers of flamingo.. Simbi Nyaima means “Village That Sank”, an allusion to the Luo legend that the lake was created when a fearful storm engulfed what was formerly a village, to punish its inhabitants for refusing to help an old woman who had arrived there looking for food and shelter.
If you want the (somewhat limited) challenge of tackling one of Lake Victoria’s giant Nile perches, the place to stay is Rusinga Island, where there is a comfortable lodge for fishermen in idyllic surroundings, or Mfangano Island, where there is a tented camp. The introduction of these huge fish into the lake in the 1950s has been controversial. In the 1980s there was an explosion in their numbers and, as a result, many indigenous species of fish have since disappeared, particularly the small cichlids: Nile perch now account for about 80 percent of the fish in the lake. In commercial terms, this has been a great success, generating a multi-million dollar processing and export industry. However, scientists maintain that it has had a disastrous impact on the lake’s ecosystem.
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