Sights and sounds that give Kerio Valley magical charm
Tourists take in the breath-taking view of the Kerio Escarpment. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Then there’s Torok Waterfall uphill which is said to never have dried for generations even during the dry season, not to forget Lake Kamnarok Game Reserve down the valley on the Baringo County side.
- This beauty cannot be hidden anymore as Baringo and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties are set to team up to market the region as a favourite tourist destination, with the recent launch of the Migratory Birds Flyway Observatory site and Bird Watching Awareness Week.
- According to Baringo chief warden William Kimosop, Tugumoi, which stands at over 8,000ft above sea level, and the surrounding area form the beginning of the scenic Kerio Valley, Tugen Hills and Elgeyo-Marakwet Escarpment.
Travelling on the Iten-Kabarnet Road, one cannot stop marvelling at the breathtaking scenery of the expansive Kerio Valley.
The winding road provides a perfect opportunity for visitors to move at low speeds as they watch the bewitching landscape, especially in Kolool.
Then there’s Torok Waterfall uphill which is said to never have dried for generations even during the dry season, not to forget Lake Kamnarok Game Reserve down the valley on the Baringo County side.
This beauty cannot be hidden anymore as Baringo and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties are set to team up to market the region as a favourite tourist destination, with the recent launch of the Migratory Birds Flyway Observatory site and Bird Watching Awareness Week.
The function held at Tugumoi Ridge, at the border of the two counties, has attracted among others Birding Destination Conservancies members, the National Museums of Kenya Ornithology Department, bird experts and enthusiasts, conservation organisations and Nature Kenya and Bird Life International.
According to Baringo chief warden William Kimosop, Tugumoi, which stands at over 8,000ft above sea level, and the surrounding area form the beginning of the scenic Kerio Valley, Tugen Hills and Elgeyo-Marakwet Escarpment.
“Migratory birds exit from this section, making it a vantage position to watch them. The two counties are rich in tourism sites which, if well tapped, will turn around the economy of the area,” Mr Kimosop told the Nation.
He added that the recent move by Unesco to list Lake Bogoria as one of the world’s heritage sites had boosted its status as it had opened the area to the outside world.
Besides Lake Bogoria, which has more than 200 hot springs, Mr Kimosop said his department had discovered other springs in Kerio Valley, Kabartonjo, Eldama-Ravine and in parts of East Pokot Sub-County.
He said that they had found other hidden treasures in the area including caves in Kabarnet, Kapkut, Kapchomuso, Seretunin and Sesya.
Baringo Tourism and Enterprise Development Executive Kipchumba Keitany said Lake Baringo was renowned for being home to more than 470 bird species and has 13 islands.
