Western Kenya Tourism – The least-visited Western Kenya is home to rolling tea plantations, lush swamps, and equatorial forests, along with Kenya’s second-highest mountain and the largest lake in Africa.
However, the ultimate highlight is the Maasai Mara a natural continuation of the famous Serengeti Plains undulating grassland, dramatic escarpments, beautiful acacia forests – and the greatest wildlife show on earth.
Scaling up the heights of Mount Elgon sampling Nile Perch big fishing opportunities, birding the remote islands, or just basking lazily on the mainland beaches of Lake Victoria are among the so many leisure activities to undertake while in Western Kenya.
With some of the most breath-taking sunrises and sunsets, Western Kenya remains to be one of the best locations in Kenya to see some of Kenya’s most sought-after bird species in its forests, swamps, lakes, and rivers, and even in the scattered hills with its neighboring countries. Beyond flora and fauna, it’s in Western Kenya where the 44th former US president, Barack Obama has his roots in the village of Alego, Kogelo. Well known to be among the most welcoming communities, the culture here isn’t something to be missed. Welcome to Western Kenya!
Western Kenya is a world of wonders. From its lush green highlands, rolling tea plantations, vast swamps, Kenya’s second-highest peak on Mount Elgon, and the equatorial rainforests, along with the largest lake in Africa – Lake Victoria. Western Kenya positions itself as an alternative gateway to the world’s most popular nature sanctuary, the Masai Mara Game Reserve, where annually the most spectacular show on earth takes place. These features make the region a premier ecotourism destination.
Other than these star attractions, the region has a wealth of cultural and historical attractions. The massive sacred stones of Kit Mikayi, Thimlich Ohinga, a 14th-century complex – a recent addition to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Mausoleum, The Obama’s Grandparents Home in Siaya, and the Tom Mboya Mausoleum on Rusinga Island are some of the remarkable historical features that stand out in the region that are worth visiting.
Kakamega is also home to one of the most exciting and popular cultural events – the famous bullfighting. A leisurely to Kakamega Forest is a sure way of appreciating the beauty of this equatorial rain forest for the best hiking and bird-watching experiences.
- Kisumu City:
This bird checklist covers the Teso, Busia region measuring approximate area of 13,030.6 km² situated in western Kenya. The area comprises of the two major sub-counties the Teso North and Teso South. The Teso, Busia region is bordered by the Teso of Uganda and the Padhola to the West; Bukusu to the North, Marachi to the East and Samia to the South.
The Teso region consists of a low-lying plain in the southwestern part bordering Uganda that gradually rises north-wards and eastwards towards the eastern escarpment of the Amukura Hills.
Away from the hills, the Teso, Busia region is largely made up of wetlands mainly along the Lwakhaka and Malaikisi Rivers and other rivers that empty their waters in the permanent papyrus swamps fringing the Kenya and Uganda border.
The hills and are the heartbeat of Teso as they are the sources numerous springs and streams many of which are seasonal especially in the northeastern part of Teso. Due to its topography, Teso is essentially a flood plain prone to flooding because of discharges from the surrounding hilly areas of Amukura and Chelelemuk. The region on the other hand is drained by numerous seasonal rivers that flow from the hills in the east through the plains and valleys discharging their waters towards the south and west. Most of these rivers flow filled with water from the hills especially after storms “flash floods” but shortly afterward are suitable enough to maintain water supply downstream.
- Lake Victoria
Most of the rocks underlying the Teso, Busia region are of the Gneiss-Granulite Complex with the exception of volcanic rocks in the areas surrounding the swamps. The soils of the Teso region comprise of mainly Plinthosols and Ferralsols but also include Gleysols, Fluvisols, Arenosols and Vertisols. The Karamoja region, while largely comprising of Vertisols, has a further other major soil types including Acrisols, Alisols, Arenosols, Calcisols, Cambrisols, Fluvisols, Ferralsols, Gleyisols, Leptosols, Luvisols, Lixisols, Nitisols, Phaezems, Planosols, Plinthosols, Regosols, Solonets, and Umbrisols.
The climate of the Teso region is characterised by tropical climate in the Teso region with bimodal rainfall (March-June and September-December) averaging between 1000 – 1350mm of rainfall annually.
- Maasai Mara National Reserve
The Teso, Busia region is classified into four (4) major vegetation zones the East Sudanian savanna, the Southern Acacia bushlands, the Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic & thickets to the South-western and the North broad-leaved woodlands to the North.
Much of the area in the Teso, Busia region comprises of grasslands these have been categorized into seasonally-flooded Acacia- Hyparrhenia grasslands in the valleys sometimes classified as wetlands, while the plains are also covered by Butyrospermum Hyparrhenia savannah and Combretum-Acacia-Hyparrhenia savannah. Woodlands and forests are restricted to the tops of hills forming high altitude forest and along rivers forming riverine forests.
- Mount Elgon National Park
The Teso, Busia region, lacks open water bodies it is for this reason that most of papyrus wetlands are restricted to the Kenya Uganda border where they fringe the Lwakhaka River flood plians as the river finds its way into Lake Kyoga. Majority of the wetlands in the Teso, Busia region are seasonally flooded grasslands that extend from the papyrus wetlands following streams and rivers that flow in and out of the rivers and streams from the hills.
- Dunga Village
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs)
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Impala Park
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Saiwa Swamp National Park
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Kakamega Forest
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Kendu Bay & Lake Simbi Nyaima
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Mfangano Island
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Rusinga Island
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Takawiri Island
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Alego Kogelo, The Obama’s Home
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Ruma National Park
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Katotoi Hills
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Yala Swamp Complex
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Aderema Hills
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
- Oluokos Fair Acres for Nature at Adumai Hills
The Teso, Busia region hosts 0 of the all Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Kenya. This has led to poor understanding of bird species outside Kenya (IBAs) and has created a gap between nature and conservation.
Discover Kenya's only lakeside city Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria
This is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu is also the only lakeside city by the shores of the world’s largest freshwaters of Lake Victoria. Being the economic hub of Western Kenya, Kisumu isn’t far from Kogelo, a village known for being the hometown of Barack Obama Sr., the father to the 44th president of the United States.
Kisumu is beautiful and you will get plenty of breath-taking shots especially if you know where to look. Spectacular photos of the sunset in Kisumu may not be enough to so you need to keep your eyes open for other reason to visit Kisumu.
Having graced some modernity, Kisumu still maintains the old town feel especially on its outskirts and the fusion of the Asian and Luo culture is still very ingrained.
Warm and ever-smiling tribes, tantalizing sunups and mind-blowing sundowns, charming cultural experiences, vibrancy in landscapes, unusual and rare wildlife, fantastic inland beaches one extensive the lakeshores and Kenya’s only rainforests is the best definition to the fascinating Western Kenya Tourist Circuit.
The slow-paced way of life, swaying trees in the virgin forests, the breezy winds, cheeping of birds winding on the landscapes down to the waves of splashing, calm waters on the lakeshores is indeed the gem of Western Kenya.
But there’s much more to western Kenya than these plains of herbivores and carnivores. The dense forests of Kakamega are buzzing with weird and wonderful creatures, the rain-soaked hills of Kericho and their verdant tea gardens bring new meaning to the word ‘green’, and amid the boat-speckled waters of Lake Victoria lies a smattering of seldom-visited islands crying out for exploration.
Western Kenya is an area of great geographic, cultural and natural diversity, offering tourists just as much, if not more, than many of Kenya’s better known tourist areas.
Most travelers dream of finding a new and unknown destination, somewhere far from the beaten tourist path, where the thrill of real discovery and exploration reward the visitor with new and unexpected experiences, sights and sounds. Kenya’s western region offers the above mentioned, and much more.
Tours are excellent ways to sightsee while minimizing the need to plan logistics
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