FamousKenya
Kenya Information Guide
Lamu Island is part of Kenyas Lamu Archipelago which has maintained its original nature with all the charm and character built over centuries. It has no roads; just alleyways and footpaths. With very few motorized transport, resident move about on foot or by boat, with donkeys used to transport goods.
Haller Park Mombasa – Haller Wildlife Park is a former disused quarry, reborn as a small private game sanctuary. A major initiative has been made to “green” the quarry and these efforts have literally blossomed into an area of lush beauty. Haller Park is now fully stocked with game including Giraffe, Eland, Hippo, Oryx and snakes.
Much of the Kenya coast was covered by coastal forests up to around 300 years ago. The forests were cut down, and only few patches remain. Those East African coastal forests have high biodiversity value, and are classified as one of the 21 global biodiversity hotspots.
1971 was the turning point; Dr. Rene Haller started the first of the rehabilitation process experimenting with the extensive open quarries, marked by planting 3,000 trees in the hard coral. This marked the start of Haller Park began by the development of the forest area and roads and pathways used by the employees working on the propagation of trees, fish ponds and the wildlife sanctuary.
Soon the rehabilitated area attracted the interest of people. Due to the littering problem from visitors, Dr Haller realised that some sort of order was needed. Hence the idea of the Nature Trail was born. The rehabilitated quarries have become a green recreation space for Mombasa residents and an attraction for visiting tourists. The Nature Trails were open to the public in January 1984 receiving over 20,000 visitors in its first year.
Dr. Rene Haller believed animals should play an equally important role in the forest ecosystem as plants. The introduction of the millipedes into the casuarina forest triggered a chain reaction of colonization by plants and animals.
The creation of new habitats attracted birds, insects and mammals. Some larger mammals were introduced while others moved in.
The mammals in Haller Park Mombasa had an impact on the environment. For example, the bushpigs which feed on roots, maggots, and insects helped to aerate the trees’ root systems. The female giraffes feed on leaves and dispersed plants seeds while their faeces acted as fertiliser. The dung beetles also played a role by helping bring the manure underground where it is broken down by micro-organisms creating further plant life.
Haller Park Mombasa (formerly Bamburi Nature Trail) is located South of the Bamburi cement plant along the Mombasa / Malindi highway. A product of the company’s efforts, since 1971, to convert barren landscape of disused limestone quarries into vibrant and diverse ecosystem of forest, grasslands and ponds.
Currently, Haller Park plays host to a variety of wildlife including hippos, giraffes, buffalos, and antelopes as well as smaller mammals and birds.
Haller Park was the first recipient to be honoured with the United Nations Environmental Program Global 500 Roll of Honour award for the unique, ecologically sound and successful rehabilitation undertaken.
Haller Park consists of a Game Sanctuary, Reptile Park, small demonstration Fish Farm area, Palm Garden, Crocodile pens and a giraffe viewing platform, offering a variety of attractions at the various points to educate and entertain the over 160,000 visitors who visit the park every year.
The diversity of vegetation is considerable, from mangrove palms and majestic indigenous shade trees to coastal forests where several of these plants are rare and endangered; a haven for botanist. Yet each plant plays an important role in the overall harmony of the ecosystem.
Haller Park Mombasa also provides a home to various animal species from the cheeky Vervet monkeys to the graceful giraffe; Weaver birds, Kingfisher, Storks, Herons, Egrets, Owls, Eagles, Kites, Cranes, Ibis, Sandpipers the list is endless, Haller Park a must visit for all lovers bird.
Every day at three o’clock (3:00PM).
Nairobi Giraffe Centre has been ostensibly set up as a breeding center for the endangered Rothschild giraffe but now operates conservation/education programs for Kenyan school children. There is good information on giraffes available here, and an elevated feeding platform where visitors meet the resident giraffes face to face.
The Giraffe Centre is located at Karen, approximately (12.5 miles) 20 kilometers from the center of Nairobi, Kenya. It was founded in order to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis Rothschild, which is found only in the grasslands of East Africa.
The Giraffe Centre was started by Jock Leslie-Melville in 1979, the Kenyan grandson of a Scottish Earl, when he and his wife Betty captured a baby giraffe to start a program of breeding giraffes in captivity at their home in Langata – home of the present center. Since then the program has had enormous success, resulting in the introduction of several breeding pairs of Rothschild Giraffe into Kenyan national parks.
In 1979, Leslie-Melville added an education center to his (then still private) giraffe sanctuary. By 1983 he had raised enough money to establish the Giraffe Visitor’s Centre as a tourist destination in Nairobi. The center has rescued, hand-reared, and released around 500 orphaned giraffes back into the wild since opening.
The main attraction for visitors is feeding giraffes from a raised observation platform. The centre is also home to several warthogs which freely roam the area along with the giraffes.
The Giraffe Center is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm including weekends and public holidays.
South Nandi Forest area is a mid-elevation forest enjoying rainfall as high as 1,600 to 1,900 mm/year depending on altitude. The forest is drained by the Kimondi and Sirua rivers, which merge to form the Yala river. River Yala is one of the most important rivers flowing into lake Victoria
This area is a mid-elevation forest lying just west of Kapsabet town and south of the main Kapsabet–Kaimosi road. South Nandi was once contiguous with Kakamega forest (IBA KE058) and the two forests are still no more than a few kilometres apart at their closest points. Rainfall is high, 1,600–1,900 mm/year depending on altitude. The forest is drained by the Kimondi and Sirua rivers, which merge to form the Yala river flowing into Lake Victoria. The landscape is gently undulating and under lain by granitic and basement complex rocks, which weather to give deep, well-drained, moderately fertile soils. The South Nandi area has high agricultural potential and human densities around it are also high, particularly to the west. Biogeographically, South Nandi is often considered an eastern extension of Kakamega. However, it is higher in altitude than Kakamega and floristically less diverse. In effect, South Nandi is transitional between the lowland forests of West and Central Africa (the easternmost outlier of which is Kakamega) and the montane forests of the central Kenya highlands. Common trees include Tabernaemontana stapfiana, Macaranga kilimandscharica, Croton megalocarpus, C. macrostachyus, Drypetes gerrardii, Celtis africana, Prunus africana, Neoboutonia macrocalyx and Albizia gummifera. South Nandi was gazetted in 1936 as a Trust Forest covering 20,200 ha, since when c.2,200 ha have been excised for settlement, c.340 ha planted with tea, and 1,400 ha planted with exotic tree species. Of the remaining area, at most c.13,000 ha is closed-canopy forest, the rest being scrub, grassland or cultivation.
Attraction Type: Scenery & Landscapes, Wildlife
Category: Forest, Lake or River, Birding Site
Region: North Rift
City / Town: Kipsigak
Road / Street: Kipsigak Serem Rd
Telephone: 254 20 239 6440
254 715 735555
Email: info@kenyaforestservice.org
Entrance Fee: Yes
Kenya is a world unto itself. Kenya is Africa’s original safari destination, attracting explorers, adventurers, and travelers for centuries. A safari to Kenya is a trip of a lifetime.
Kenya has one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions sites, known for its diversity of landscape, wildlife, and cultures. From sweeping savannahs to tropical beaches and coral reef, dense equatorial forests to mighty snow-capped mountains, and more.
For more information visit: Tourists Attractions in Kenya
Kenya is the ultimate safari destination, providing travelers with a window into the heart of Africa. But this is not all that Kenya has to offer. Located near the equator, Kenya´s magic lies in the fact that the country encompasses an astounding variety of landscapes and climates, flora and fauna, as well as communities and cultures, home to water sports, a swim with dolphins and adventure.
For more information visit: Kenya Safari
Hotels in Kenya vary enormously in price and facilities. Luxury hotels in Kenya offer excellent standards of service and are comparable to the best hotels anywhere in the world. Kenya’s abundance of natural produce, combined with the rich variety of cultures and traditions, has created a great culinary nation.
The fertile volcanic soil of the Rift Valley produces a bounty of fresh vegetables, while the coast is a great source of tropical fruit and fresh seafood. The Kenyan coast is also the home of the world-renowned Swahili cuisine, a blend of Middle Eastern and African cooking with a particular coastal twist.
For more information visit: Hotels in Kenya
Apart from the towns of Nairobi , Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru, Kenya has other major towns each a unique representation of the country’s striking abundance in flora and fauna. Most of these towns are headquarters in their respective counties or major economic bases in their regions. Luxury hotels and lodges located here provide good accommodation and conferencing facilities for guests who dare to try out a taste different from the capital or the coast.
For more information visit: Towns in Kenya
Kenya’s culture blends together diverse tribes, traditions, and religions into one beautiful, well-woven tapestry. These traditions complement each other while incorporating the modern influences of globalization – resulting in a vibrant cultural spirit that is uniquely Kenyan. Kenya has over 42 different tribes with different languages and several dialects. Kenyan tourism has made the Maasai and Samburu tribes the most famous because of their long preserved culture.
For more information visit: Kenya People and Tribes
The Kereita Forest Safari shares the Aberdares range ecosystem and features many interesting hiking trails established by Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO). This is a very serene and pristine area and is a designated birding site. It is very serene and pristine.
Kereita is a Kikuyu word “kere-ita” which means Armed People. The residents have it that the place was once teeming with warriors and it is evidenced by the Lari Massacre (1953), unmarked mass graves where over 5,000 victims of retaliation attacks on the local population by the British colonial administration were buried.
The Kereita Forest at the southernmost end of the Aberdares range features many interesting hiking trails established by Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO), a local community-based organization that works to conserve this rich biodiversity which is a designated Important Bird Area. One of these trails, the Carbacid trail, leads to Kereita Waterfall on Gatamaiyu River, and the adjacent cave that is home to a small bat colony.
Kereita Forest bears the distinction of being the site of mass graves where over 5,000 victims of revenge attacks on the local population by the British colonial administration were buried. These reprisals were triggered by the Lari Massacre in March 1953, after Mau Mau combatants attacked and killed about 100 loyalists in this area, including the local colonial Chief.
Kereita Forest is in Kiambu County, Kenya. It is also located in the Lari Sub-County, in Kimende Town.