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Western Kenya

An undiscovered gem

Western Kenya is unique; it abounds in gloriously green-rolling scenery, offers a warm and welcoming people, yet remains one of the most unspoilt and least-known parts of the country.  

A remarkable and contrasting landscape

Cut off by the high Rift wall of the Mau and Elgeyo escarpments, Western Kenya features a unique landscape, ranging from palm-studded shores to verdant valleys, and from rolling hills to pockets of thick jungle. 

In the heart of ‘tea country’

Densely populated, the area is widely cultivated, featuring both carefully tended shambas (small farming plots) and vast tea plantations. Kericho, Kenya’s tea capital is surrounded by a bright green patchwork of tea plantations, which can be clearly seen from the main roads.  

Western Kenya, land of diversity

Western Kenya has it all. To the far west lie the mighty inland waters of Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater lake after Canada’s Lake Superior, and the regional capital of Kisumu. 

Kisumu is Kenya’s third largest town and provides a natural base for touring the region. Local attractions include: Kisumu Museum (open 8.30am-6.00pm daily), The Kisumu Impala Sanctuary (open 6.00am -7.00pm daily) and Ndere Island National Park (accessible by boat, open 6.00am – 7.00pm daily).

South-west of Kisumu, lying in the waters of Lake Victoria, are the islands of Rusinga (where Mary Leakey discovered the skull of Proconsul Africanus, a primitive anthropoid ape that lived on Rusinga three million years ago) and Mfangano (a centre of pre-history famous for its rock art).

A short distance to the north of Kisumu is the famous Kakamega Forest Reserve, a unique patch of lowland rainforest renowned for its abundant wildlife. 

And travelling further north, but still within easy reach, are the contrasting wildernesses of the vast and rugged Mount Elgon National Park on the Ugandan border, famous for its bat-filled caves and salt-mining elephants, and Kenya’s smallest National Park, Saiwa Swamp, the sanctuary of the semi-aquatic sitatunga antelope. 

Lake Victoria

Few inland waters measure up to Lake Victoria, which has a surface area of 68,800 sq km, of which Kenya claims only 3,785 sq km. The lake is also bordered by Uganda and Tanzania. Unlike the lakes further west, Lake Victoria is not part of the Rift Valley system and is wide and shallow, being only 80 meters deep. The world’s second largest freshwater lake (after Canada’s Lake Superior), Lake Victoria is fed mainly by rainwater and drains more than 6,450 km to the north, via the Nile, to the Mediterranean Sea. First settled by the Luo peoples some five centuries ago, Lake Victoria was ‘discovered’ as a potential source of the Nile by the English explorer John Hanning Speke in 1858. 

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