Attractions of Marsabit National Reserve : Marsabit national park is located at Mount Marsabit in northern Kenya, near Marsabit town ,520.4 kilometres north of Nairobi in Marsabit County which was formerly known as Eastern Province. It is also referred to as a remote paradise for nature lovers. The park is in a densely forested mountain with three crater lakes which provide a haven for a variety of birdlife, mammals and reptiles. It among the most beautiful national parks of Kenya. Marsabit National Park is well known all over the world because of it being a refuge for huge tusked bull elephants, diverse birdlife and reptiles. Hikes in the dense forest, covered in mist can be enjoyed along with camel rides, bird watching and visits to the singing wells. Its reserve is well known for its zebra population and bird sanctuary.
Marsabit National Reserve covers an area of 1,554 km² and was gazetted in 1949 under the Kenya wildlife service, the body mandated to govern the Kenyan National parks and National reserves. The region also contains a number of extinct volcanic craters, which are covered in forests. There is a nearby Crater named Gof Redo,which is approximately 5 kilometres or 3.1 miles north of Marsabit at the Moyale junction and North Horr Road. Apart from Maasai Mara National Reserve which is rated as the best National Reserve in Kenya ,Marsabit National Reserve also has plenty to offer for a memorable safari experience in Kenya.
Wildlife at Marsabit National Reserve.
Marsabit National Reserve was famous in 1970s when the park was home to large herds of Elephants, which were reputed to have the longest tusks in Africa. One of the oldest bulls was named Ahmed was put under 24 hours surveillance by presidential degree and when it died ,its tusks were found to be weighing 300 kilograms Ahmed, the legendary elephant, was named the King of Marsabit due to his galactic tusks which weighed 67.2kg each by the time of his death. Other varieties of animals include four of the famous big five animals, elephant, lions, buffaloes, and Leopards. Other animals in the park include ; giraffes Zebras,black and white colobus, blue monkeys, bushbucks, sunis, among others.
Birding Destination
Marsabit National Reserve is one of the bird watchers paradise located in the Northern part of Kenya. It is a known bird watchers haven which contains more than 500 species of birds in total, of which 52 are birds of prey. The cliffs in the northern end of Lake Paradise, in Gof Sokorte Gurda, are home to a number of birds, including Ruppell’s griffon vultures, peregrine falcons, mountain buzzards, black kites and African fish eagles, Hamerkops, ibises, purple herons, and yellow-billed storks. On the sides of the slopes of the forest of the park, there is a scrubland, which hosts a populations of olive baboons, vervet monkeys, Peter’s gazelles, beisa oryxes, striped hyenas, caracals and aardwolves.
In the 1970s, the park became the most famous park in the world catching the world’s attention for having elephants with the longest tusks . One elephant, which was named Ahmed, was under constant surveillance, and when he died in 1974 his tusks were found to weigh over 300 kg. Ahmed had amazing stories and unique way of life because his tusks were so long that it is said that he could go up a hill only by walking backwards. No one however has ever proved this tall tale, but images were taken of Ahmed resting his head on his tusks.
Mount Marsabit
Mount Marsabit is a Stratovolcano mountain found in Marsabit National Reserve near the town of Marsabit in Marsabit County Kenya. The mountain has an elevation of 1707 Metres which is equivalent to 5600 feet. Mount Marsabit is a 6300km² basaltic shield volcano in Kenya, which its last eruption is unknown.
The mountain is located 170 kilometres East of the East African Rift. The slopes are dotted with 22 maars and 180 cinder cones, most of which are located in the North West and North East trending belt which cut across the thick vegetated summit region of the mountain. The lava flows if this extinct volcano has a thickness of 3m and 20 metres. The maars found here are up to 2.5 km in diameter, and some up to 3.0 km long. Volcanism is concentrated along two belts 15 km long, aligned North East and North West through to the summit, Attractions of Marsabit National Reserve.
Mount Marsabit is the only one of the four major shield volcanoes in northern Kenya which contains many maars. This is due to its location across the Chalbi Basin, which is the main groundwater sink in northern Kenya. The resulting mixing of groundwater and magma has created numerous maars.
Lake Paradise
Lake Paradise is a beautiful lake found at the centre of the Marsabit National Reserve. The lake is located at the heart of Marsabit National Reserve and on the shoes of Mount Marsabit. It is also located 10 kilometres from the Ahmed gate and from the town of Marsabit.
One of the tourist attractions of Marsabit National Reserve is Lake Paradise, a beautiful crater lake where life for years has remained remarkably the same and wildlife is flourishing, thanks to smart conservation efforts by the government and locals. Lake Paradise has been famed as one of the jewels of Northern Kenya and the home to the legendary elephants Ahmed and Abdul among many others. These are jumbos that had the longest tusks in Kenya. It sits atop an extinct volcano at the height of 1,340 metres above sea level and on the cliff edges of Mt Marsabit.
Three crates lakes
The Not far from the lake paradise there are other smaller but similar lakes, inside the forest known as ‘Gof Sokorte Dika’ which is a Borana word which means “Small sweet water crater”. It is a popular retreat for elephants. Just a few kilometres on the eastern side is another smaller crater lake known as Goff Bongole. Together, the three are some of the best places to spot animals, as the rest of the park is covered in dense forest. These three unique lakes have always provided a sanctuary for diverse species of animals and birds including the gravy zebras, buffaloes, black and white colobus, blue monkeys, bushbucks, sunis, and leopards. Marsabit National Reserve is made up of beautiful sceneries of three pristine crater lakes that provide a perfect habitats for various birdlife.
