Kenya and Why to Visit: Kenya is one of the most popular Africa safari destinations on the continent with many amazing attractions and incredibly memorable safari activities.
Location of Kenya
Kenya is located in East Africa and has land borders with Uganda in the west, Tanzania in the South, South Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia in the north and the Indian Ocean in the East. The official languages in Kenya are English and Swahili, the country lies in across the Equator and is home to some of the best white sand beaches in the world. Kenya covers a land surface of 580,370 square kilometers which allows it to have numerous parks and reserves sealed off for conservation and agricultural land for the people.
Kenya Geography
Kenya is ranked as the 47th largest nation in the world, located between latitudes 5°N and 5°S and longitudes 34° and 42°E. it incorporates low plains ascending to the central highlands from the coast along the Indian Ocean. And the Great Rift Valley which cuts across the mountains.
To the East is a rich plateau in upper Kenya, the Kenyan Highlands. This is one of Africa’s most productive agricultural regions, the highlands are home to Mount Kenya – the second highest mountain in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro which rises to a height of 5,199 meters (17,057 feet).
Facts & Attractions
The main attractions in Kenya on an Africa safari are the 19 national park and game reserves, the renowned breathtaking scenery of the Great Rift Valley, tea and coffee plantations, magnificent views of Mount Kilimanjaro and white sand beaches along the Indian Ocean especially in Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu with a variety of water sports and aquatic wildlife.
Eco-tourism, conference tourism, cultural and community tourism especially the famous Maasai People and sports tourism have built a rich tourism experience in Kenya. This is evidenced by tourism in Kenya being the second leading source of foreign after agriculture.
Kenya Wildlife Safaris
Kenya has a tremendously geographic diversity that supports a remarkable variety of animals, among the top national parks and reserves in Kenya include Masai Mara National Reserve, Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park, Samburu – Buffalo Springs, Meru National Park and Laikipia Conservancy. These protected areas are home to most or all of the Big Five which include lion, leopard, elephants, cape buffaloes and black rhinos.
For lion and cheetah sightings, the best place to visit in Kenya is the Masai Mara National Reserve which is among the top five reserves in Africa. The reserve is also remarkably trustworthy for leopard sightings as well as for less spectacular predators like a spotted hyena, jackals and bat-eared fox. One of the best locations in all of Africa to observe elephant interactions up close is Amboseli National Park.
The fascinating black and white rhinos can be seen in both healthy and obvious populations in Tsavo West National Park, Meru National Park and Lake Nakuru National Park. Also, in various reserves on the Laikipia Plateau make Kenya the second – best spot to watch rhinos after South Africa. The comparatively damp southern savannah protected by Masai Mara and Amboseli National Park is home to eland, Coke;s hartebeest, topi, Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, impala as well as Maasai giraffes, plains zebra and warthogs. Both reserves have wildebeests as permanent residents but between August and October, hundreds of thousands of those glum-looking antelope migrate from Tanzania to the Masai Mara.
The more arid – northern areas, most notably Samburu – Buffalo Springs National Reserves support a diverse group of grazers including Beisa Oryx, Lesser Kudu, Guenther’s diki – dik and the rare long – necked gerenuk. Samburu – Buffalo Springs is also home to the world’s largest wild horse – the critically endangered Grevy’s zebra. It has much narrower stripes than the more common plain zebra. The reticulated giraffe – a northern – only mammal has a more angular and eye – catching coast pattern than the Masai giraffe.
Kenya Birdlife
Kenya is one of the best places in the world for bid watching in Africa, the country’s checklist of over 1,000 species places it among the top 15 countries in the world in terms of avian diversity. Even so, this figure does not do justice to the variety of colorful and striking birds on display across the country, a moderately skilled birder could tick off 100 species in a day at several locations, most notably Lake Naivasha or Barigo.
A well planned two – week itinerary that includes key ornithological sites like Kakamega Forest, Samburu – Buffalo Springs, Mount Kenya, the Rift Valley Lake and the Coastal forests around Watamu should result in a trip list of at least 350 species.
Some of the beautiful bird species in Kenya include Abbott’s starling, Aberdare cisticola, Amani sunbird, Clarke’s weaver, Grey-crested helmet-shrike, Hinde’s pied babbler, Jackson’s francolin, Jackson’s hornbill, Montane white-eye, Sharpe’s longclaw, Sokoke pipit, Sokoke scops owl, Taita thrush, Tana River cisticola, Taveta golden weaver, Williams’s lark, Abyssinian crimson wing, Bar-tailed trogon, Blue-headed bee-eater, Friedmann’s lark, Golden-breasted starling, Golden-winged sunbird, Great blue turaco, Kori bustard, Red-naped bush-shrike, Secretary bird, Somali courser, Somali sparrow, Taita apalis, Turner’s eremomela, Vulturine guineafowl, Yellow-bellied wattle-eye among others.
Kenya’s Marine life
The waters of Kenya hosts more than 35 species of marine mammal including five species of marine turtle, whales, dolphins, dugongs and 105 species of bony fish including sharks and rays.
The diverse range of marine wildlife thrive in the reefs off the coasts of Watamu, Malindi, Mombasa and Diani. Dolphins, whale, sharks, marine turtles and manta rays are some of the seasonal marine wildlife in Kenya.
