HIKING AND TREKKING IN KENYA

Guest Post by Clare Kimosop : Hiking and Trekking in Kenya is an activity that can be done in most parts of the country. One gets a chance to enjoy being outdoors as you marvel at the beautiful sceneries and as you also take in cool fresh air. These exciting tours are designed for anybody with a big and young heart and most important with good health as it can be very exhaustive, but with plenty of fun! Hiking can be easy, moderate or those difficult ones that will definitely leave your heart thumping!  

 

Hiking Spots include;

1. Mt. Longonot

Mt. Longonot is situated in the South-East of Lake Naivasha in the amazing Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, and it is 1 to 1½ hrs drive from Nairobi depending on traffic.  Mt. Longonot which is 2,776m above sea level is characterised by scattered savannah vegetation with thick forest occurring within the crater. Moreover, it has nicely carved V-shaped valleys and ridges on its sides making it stand out beautifully.  

Hiking can be done half day or one can opt for a whole-day hiking which will take one to the top of the crater. Once on top of the crater, one can have a breathtaking view of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Naivasha and the plains and farms of the locals. While hiking, one will encounter herds of wildlife grazing leisurely. This trip is a guided one by the park’s warden for guidance and to ensure safety. It will definitely leave your heart thumping! 

2. Kerio Valley Hiking

This one takes place at Iten where there will be two options of hiking.

Option 1: A 3-hour hiking which will involve a trek from Iten to Kessup waterfall

Option 2: An 8-hour hiking involving a drop-off at the foot of the Torrok waterfall and a guided hike to the top of the fall. There will be a pick-up after the hike at the top of the escarpment at     a place called Kipkaren. 

3. Other hiking spots

Taita Hills, Chyulu Hills, Aberdares, Kakamega forest and Mt. Kenya

KENYA’S WEST

Probably the least known but the most unspoilt, the circuit stretches from the green (tea) country, Kericho, to South West Islands of Rusinga and up north Kakamega Forest.

The tea country is densely populated and widely cultivated featuring small shambas to tea plantations. Kericho is the tea capital, with vast tea plantations visible from the main roads. To the west is Lake Victoria, the world’s largest fresh water lake after Canada’s Lake Superior. On its shores lie Kisumu City, the regional capital and Kenya’s third largest town.

In Lake Victoria are Rusinga Islands, the place Mary Leakey discovered the skul of Proconsul Africanus, a primitive anthropoid ape that lived on Rusinga three million years ago, and Mfangano, a center of pre-history famous for its rock art.

Up North, is the famous Kakamega Forest Reserve, a lowland forest renowned for its abundant wildlife. On the Ugandan border to the west lies the rugged wilderness of Mt.Elgon National Park, famous for its bat-filled caves and salt-mining elephants.

Some 27km north of Kitale-Lodwar road from Kitale town lies Saiwa Swamp, unique and of its kind in that, accessibility to the park is only by foot. The park is traversed by some 18km of walking trails and timbered walkways. It has four timbered observation towers, climbed to get an Ariel view of the swamp and its inhabitants. Saiwa Swamp remains the only place in Kenya the endangered Sitatunga antelope relatively habituates to the proximity of humans. 

                                                        Sitatunga : Source AWF

The Sitatunga (Tragelaphus Spekei) is named after John Hanning Speke, who discovered the source of the Nile at Lake Victoria in 1858. Other wildlife there includes the rare de Braza’s monkey, otter, genet cat, serval cat, mongoose, bushbuck, ratel and 372 bird species such as the blue-headed coucal.

More info (park rates,location,species) on these among many other places that complete the Kenya’s western tourist circuit visit KWS || Magical Kenya ||  www.kenya-information-guide.com/saiwa-swamp