The beautiful landscape

TOURISM IN KENYA

Great Rift Valley

Beautiful countryside >

Ballooning in the Maasai Mara

Alpine vegetation in a valley on Mt Kenya.

Dry woodland forest of the Taita Hills.

Traditional hut in Western Kenya, near Lake Victoria.

The plains sorrounding Lake Victoria, western Kenya.

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Kenya's beautiful Countryside

Illuminated by year-round equatorial sun, the rivers, lakes, mountains, plateaus and beaches of Kenya are a sight to behold. The natural landscape is overwhelmingly inspiring to the spirits and its magnetism is irresistible. It only takes a single trip to the countryside before the first time visitor gets hooked for life.

Ancient, extinct volcanoes dot the countryside in various shapes and colors - some green, others brown - but the distant ones in shades of blue. Some are smooth, others are mere rocky skeletons of majestic mountains that towered over this landscape millions of years ago. Mt Kenya, being the second highest peak in Africa (5,199m), was much higher just 10,000 years ago. Mountains and plains are randomly criss-crossed by lava plateaus stretching far into the horizon.

Cities give way to the countryside where the bush opens up to reveal villages, schools and churches. Lush forest greenery gleams in the tropical sun before the evening storms wash away the dust and feed the rivers that sustain life. Dazzling white clouds engage in a never-ending race against a backdrop of marine blue skies.

Lake Victoria lies to the west of Kenya, on the borders with Uganda and Tanzania. Boat tours across the lake are an eye opener to the aquatic plant and animal life in the lake waters. Hugging the lake shores are water lilies, the malignant hyacinth and giant mats of papyrus, twice the height of an average man. These plants contribute to the local economy when they are processed and woven into baskets, hats, table mats, furniture and even writing paper.

Fishing is a major component of the lakeside economy. Fish species caught include Nile Perch and Tilapia some of which find their way to the world's leading eateries. There is a tiny species of fish called "omena" that is eaten and swallowed whole – including the bones!

The Great Rift Valley is a geological system of faults that inspires emotions of cosmic awe. On the floor of the Valley can be found even more mountains and dormant volcanoes including Mts Longonot, Eburu, Suswa and the Menengai crater, all of which are easily accessible by road. By far the most attractive features in the Great Rift are the numerous small lakes on the floor itself and on parts of the steep escarpments. The aerial views of Lake Naivasha as one drives along the highway from Nairobi is a great experience. From a vantage point such as this, rising hundreds of metres above the Rift Valley floor, one can see farmlands stretching hundreds of miles into the distance and occasionally broken by the haze and lights of distant towns.

The ancient volcanism, faulting and folding of the Great Rift Valley has created productive farmland in the region. Maize, coffee, tea and pyrethrum are major economic pillars as well as ranching and dairy farming. The altitudes of the Kenya highlands ensure a cool, pleasant climate compared to other world regions lying on the Equator such as the Congo. Temperatures here hardly exceed 30C, there is adequate rainfall for commercial agriculture and the land is exceedingly receptive to the introduction of exotic trees and crops. All these were contributing factors to European settlement in the early 20th century.

Away from the Kenya highlands, there are the harsh, dry bush lands that cover the greater part of Kenya's surface all the way from the southeast near Kilimanjaro and going north east towards Somalia then northwards to Ethiopia and Sudan. Lying at a lower altitude, the bush lands are warmer and receive less rainfall than the highlands. Life in this ecological zone is exceedingly harsh and has attracted survival-based reality TV shows from all over the world. To this day, the population density is not as high compared to the highlands, with herding of livestock being the main activity here. However most of Kenya's wildlife is found in this physical-climatic zone.

The story of Kenya's country side cannot be complete without a mention of Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline. The beaches are accessible all year round, not just for sun bathers but also for divers, windsurfers and paragliders. Marine national parks protect schools of multi-colored fish from commercial trawlers. The array of fishes can be found swimming around dazzling coral reefs. Sport fishing clubs specializing in blue marling, shark and sword fish have broken world records in the past. The coast is dotted with many islands all of which can be visited by air or boat.

There are natural forests such as Shimba Hills and Arabuko Sokoke which hold special significance to local tribes in addition to sheltering wildlife. Spooky Mangrove forests along the northern coasts have been exploited for thousands of years because of the durable building poles made from them. Mangrove forests look strange because the roots of the Mangrove actually stick out above the sea soaked soils where the tree thrives. The Mangrove attracted the first Arab traders to the East African coast thousands of years ago.

Coastal towns such as Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu emerged as centres of Afro-Arabic trade and culture. The Portuguese wrested control of the area after Vasco da Gama’s first visit in the 1400’s. Several centuries later, Arab settlers combined forces with Omani Arabs to regain their territories, which they held on to till the arrival of the British in the 19th century.

The interaction between the Arab migrants and the indigenous population resulted in a mixed Afro-Arabic culture called “Swahili”. The Swahili language is now spoken in most of East and Central Africa though its accentuation differs with location.