The Best time to visit Lake Bogoria for flamingos : Lake Bogoria is located within Lake Bogoria National Reserve in Baringo County. It is one of the greatest safari destinations in the county and a major tourist attractions in the Great Rift Valley because of its geysers, hot springs, wildlife and the large population of flamingos.
The driving distance is approximately two hours drive on road from Nakuru and roughly 252 kilometres (157miles) from Nairobi Kenya’s capital city. The driving distance from Nairobi to Lake Bogoria is approximately 4 to 5 hours via Nakuru-Nairobi Highway. Lake Bogoria lies below Ngendelel escarpment which is 600m high and has a surface area of 32 square kilometres (12square miles). There is some active geothermal activity found on the western part .The lake is so beautiful that it was once described as the Most beautiful view in Africa by a geologist known as J.W Gregory in 1892.
Lake Bogoria National Reserve in which the lake Bogoria lies within is under the administration of Kenya wildlife service and was established in November 1970. Its scenery is a semi arid area with its major tributary being the Waseges River which has its origin rising from the Aberdare Range. The surrounding area around Lake Bogoria comprises of grasslands, dotted with bushes and scrubs used for grazing .
Lake Bogoria is a major tourist attractions in Baringo County made popular by the thousands and thousands of flamingos flocking the lake because of its blue-green algae. It is one of the Kenya safari destinations together with Lake Nakuru which both attracts up to two million flamingos. It is one of the best locations to visits for bird watchers.
Bird watching
Lake Bogoria is one of the Rift Valley lakes that attracts millions and millions of flamingos and other numerous bird species. Some of the notable birds found on the lake and its surroundings include raptors like tawny eagles which are one of the raptors that prey on the flamingos. There are around 135 birds species recorded in the area. Some of the most likely to be spotted include the practical, swift, African spoonbill, Augur buzzards, water dikkop, great tit, Starling, Hornbill, Coombes, little bee-eater, Cape wigeon, Gabardine Goshawk ,Grey crowned crane, African wattled Lapwing, Narina Trogon, Black-necked Grebe, Sombre Nightjar, Cape teal, Southern pochard, Steel-blue whydah, Egyptian vultures, Grosbeak canary Yellow-billed storks and the little grebe among others.
Lesser Flamingos
There are two types of flamingos his is the type of flamingos that are largely found in Lake Bogoria, they are so many that at times of the year the paint the lake pink when viewed from an elevated angle. Lesser flamingos males have narrow wings and are slightly taller than the females. They have deep red coloration on their bills with black tips.
Greater Flamingo
This is also one of the most common species of flamingo family found in most of the Kenyan lakes and some parts of East Africa. They are the most beautiful species among the flamingos family , they are extremely beautiful with their white and pinkish colours with bills tipped with black and pink legs. They are very social birds which are commonly found along the shallow water bodies and are migratory birds. They are known to be carnivores and produce a goose-like sound that is quite impressive.
The best time to visit Lake Bogoria for Flamingos viewing
Lake Bogoria National Reserve in which lake Bogoria is located can be visited all the year through to view flamingos which are found on the shores of the lake feeding on the algae plants. However, the number of Flamingos tend to greatly increase between the month of July to October. Lake Bogoria is one of the less visited National reserves in Kenya and therefore has no either High or low seasons, it is because of that reason the it rates remain constant throughout the year. Kenya tour safaris consider lake Bogoria’s main tourist attractions the Flamingos some of the spectacular views and one of the most beautiful places in the world because of its panoramic and breath taking views.
Other tourist attraction in Lake Bogoria Reserve
Lake Bogoria has other tourist attractions around it and the region has been made unique by its numerous hot spring with over 200 hot springs and 17 geysers in which majority of them are still active. Lake Bogoria National Reserve is one of the places in the Africa with the highest number of geysers. The most popular hot spring in the region is the Loburu hot spring.
Wildlife
Lake Bogoria National Reserve is home to the last Kenya’s remaining population of Greater Kudu. These Antelopes are best spotted either early in the morning or late in the evening as they are very active. During the day these shy magnificent species of the antelopes can be spotted resting under acacia trees shades escaping the scorching day sun. Other animals which include buffalos, zebras, cheetahs, baboons, Warthogs spotted hyenas, Impala, Dik dik and Caracal.
Cultural visits
Lake Bogoria National Reserve has two cultural heritage centres depicting the Endorois and the Tugen cultures. The Endorois are the inhabitants of the region and believe the region to be their ancestral land. There are Tugen homesteads which are built by their cultural architectural styles, it is equipped with their indigenous tools including furniture’s such as old stools which were used by elders. These are just a few examples of the traditional artefacts on display when you visit into the traditional huts , other item available and can be sold to the visitors include bracelets, beads and beaded guards , traditional attires made from skin and other animal products, a display of the three stoned fire place and variety of indigenous dishes.
A visit to the two traditional huts has a lot of items and display that show a community rich and diverse cultures of Kenya. They also offer a lot to learn about Kenyan community rich in its unique culture which has been passed down through generations.
Other activities to be enjoyed at Lake Bogoria
There several activities to be enjoyed during your visit to Lake Bogoria one of the notable and the most activity enjoyed by majority of the visitors is the egg boiling activity in which they are boiled by the lake’s hot springs and naturally salted by the lakes natural salt because of it being one of the salty lakes in the Rift Valley.
This activity entails submerging of raw egg into the hot springs and witness the incredible ability of the lakes natural wonder to make and convert the egg into a soft ripe egg within a few minutes. Enjoy your egg while viewing the pink birds on the shores of Lake Bogoria one of the breath-taking sceneries in Kenya.
Camping
On the southern part of the Lake there is a camping site , where guests can enjoy their camping trips. The Fig tree campsite is the most common visitors favourite camping site in Lake Bogoria National Reserve. This is because the campsite is located near a cool water stream which helps with the breeze to cool the hot day temperatures due to semi aridity of the region. Other campsites available are the Acacia campsite and the Riverside Campsite. Papyrus Inn Garden and the region around Loboi Gate can also be set up as the alternative camping area for the visitors visiting Lake Bogoria.
Lake Bogoria Spa resort
This is a luxurious four star hotel which is commonly referred to as the Healing place because of its famous spa with cathartic value. The hotel has self contained rooms equipped with safety locks, air conditioning and telephone service.
The hotel also offer other additional fun filling activities such as bike rides, swimming and Organised nature walks accompanied by knowledgeable and experienced guides.
