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WHERE TO GO |
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The coast and major game parks are the most obvious targets, and if
you come to Kenya on an inclusive tour you're likely to have your time
divided between these two attractions. Despite the impact of human
population pressures, Kenya's wildlife spectacle remains a fascinating
and addictive experience and most visitors are enchanted by their
safaris. Kenya's million-odd annual visitors are easily absorbed in such
a large country, and there's nothing to prevent you escaping the
predictable tourist bottlenecks: even on an organized tour, you should
not feel constrained to follow the prescribed plan.
The vast majority of the population live in the rugged highland areas in
the southwest quarter of the country, where the ridges are a mix of
shamba smallholdings and plantations. Running through the heart of these
highlands sprawls the Great Rift Valley , an archetypal East African
scene of dry, thorn tree savannah, splashed with lakes and studded by
volcanoes. It's great walking country, as are the high forests and moors
of the Central Highlands and Mount Kenya itself - a major target and a
feasible climb for most people. Nairobi , the capital, on the highlands'
southern edge, is generally used only as a gateway to Kenya, but has
plenty of diversions to occupy your time while arranging an onward trip.
The national parks and reserves , watered by seasonal streams, are
mostly located in savannah country on the highland fringes.
Further west, towards Lake Victoria , lies gentler countryside, where
you can travel for days without seeing another foreign visitor and get
perhaps the best immersion in Kenyan life and culture. Beyond the
rolling tea plantations of Kericho and the hot plains around the port of
Kisumu lies the steep volcanic massif of Mount Elgon , astride the
Ugandan border. The little-known Kakamega Forest rainforest reserve,
with its unique wildlife, is here too, and more than enough reason to
strike out west.
In the north, the land is desert or semi-desert, broken only by the
highlight of Lake Turkana in the north west, almost unnaturally blue and
gigantic in the wilderness. Although northeast Kenya, towards the
Somalian border, is currently unsafe for travellers, the routes up to
Turkana are still open, and you can even get there by public transport.
For serious adventure, it is one of the most spectacular and memorable
of all African regions.
Separating Kenya's interior - or "up-country" - from the Indian Ocean,
the arid Maungu Plains form a barrier which accounts in large part for
the separate history and culture of the coast . Here, a distinct Islamic
Swahili civilization exists with a long historical record in its mosques
and tombs and the ruins of several ancient towns cut from the jungle,
while along the length of the coast, beyond the white sandy beaches -
invariably shaded by coconut palms or casuarina trees - runs an almost
continuous coral reef, protecting a shallow, safe lagoon from the Indian
Ocean.
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