As its name suggests, Central Island grows out of the water in the middle of Lake Turkana. Being of volcanic origin, the island owns three crater lakes, one being home for tilapia fish, another one for thousands of flamingos and the third one for crocodiles. Central Island is also an important breeding place for crocodiles and a diverse avid fauna and this is why it is protected as a national park. You can explore the island on foot, it takes only about one hour to climb the highest point from where you enjoy unrivalled vistas over Lake Turkana.
Beaches of Eliye Beach
Just 50 kilometres east of Lodwar lies Eliye Springs, a small resort that, back in the 1970ies enjoyed astonishing popularity with the international jet set who flew in from Nairobi with private planes to spend a weekend angling on the lake and partying on the beach. Eliye Springs surely is the greatest place to unwind. It has a very laid-back atmosphere, endless palm fringed sand beaches, massive sand dune from which you enjoy a panoramic view of Lake Turkana with no mobile network. Domestic tourists visit Eliye beach over the weekend when they want to be unreachable and enjoy total peace and fun.
Fergusson Gulf
Ferguson Gulf is a huge bay full of shallow water, confined towards Lake Turkana by a sandy ridge overgrown by doum palm trees, a terrific landscape! Everybody around seems to be busy fishing, thousands of pelicans, flamingos and yellow billed storks as well as the local fishermen who practise their trade with sailing boats, canoes with outboard engines or traditional rafts which supposedly are the most ancient vessels of human kind. It all explains why nearby town of Kalokol is the centre of Turkana’s fishing industry.
Kalokol Standing Stones
People don’t expect a mythical experience right next to a main road. But so it may happen at Namorutunga when you drive from Lodwar to Kalokol. A gang of local elders can tell you all about the people of stone, which is the literal translation of the local name of the site. As the tale goes, the basalt pillars once where people dancing were cursed and turned into stone by an angry sorcerer. Archaeologists are not so sure that this is the true origin of the site but rather suspect that it has been a place of worship since approximately 2,000 years.
Hot Waterfalls of Kapedo
On arrival in Kapedo, the border town of Baringo and Turkana County on the road running up from Lake Baringo, visitors probably will rub their eyes in disbelief when they see the major attraction of the region: Two boiling hot waterfalls that plunge over a small escarpment before merging with Suguta River! Kapedo itself is a picturesque village where traditional grass thatched huts prevail. The surrounding has also a lot of charm with Silali volcano to the east and Tiati hills to the west which both are a rewarding hiking terrain.
Lobolo Swamp of flamingos
A unique ensemble of sand dunes, lakescape, doom palm trees and a swampy lagoon characterize the area of Lobolo swamp. Myriads of flamingo, holy ibis and other waterfowl have chosen it as their stomping ground. In case you are a bird watcher or merely a nature lover, you will enjoy staying and unwinding here very much! There is an exclusive tented camp near a natural spring covered by a shady palm groove, right at the shores of beautiful Lake Turkana.
Lokori Standing Stones and Rock Art
In Lokori, not too far from the banks of Kerio River, there is one of Turkana’s most impressive archaeological sites, an ensemble of numerous circles of standing stones and two hills bearing mysterious rock art engravings. The local people will insist that the standing stone slabs once have been dancers turned into rocks by a wizard, similar to the stories you might have heard at the Namorutunga site near Kalokol. But again, archaeologists suspect other origins.
Nariokotome Turkana Boy monument
Where do we originally come from? Possibly from Nariokotome, near the shores of Lake Turkana! This is at least where the remnants of the world famous Turkana Boy were found, a near complete skeleton of an approximately 1.6 million year old Homo erectus. This early human species is generally regarded by scientists as one of our direct ancestors. A monumental pillar and a brass replica of the Turkana Boy mark the spot where Kamoya Kimeu, a researcher of Dr. Richard Leakey’s scientific team detected the fossil in 1984.
South Turkana National Reserve
When travelling from Kitale to Lodwar, most people drive past Turkana’s largest nature reserve without even sensing what they are missing. South Turkana National Reserve is probably one of the least visited nature reserves in the whole of Kenya but it is a hidden gem! Chances to meet other tourists there are minimal. So why don’t you just fancy to possess your own private national park? You can explore South Turkana by 4WD or on foot.
