The Kakamega Forest National Reserve is situated in the Lake Victoria basin, approximately 50km north of Kisumu city. Being the only remnant in Kenya with unique Guineo-Congolian forest ecosystem, wildlife and scenic beauty in the Western county gives a truly meaning of traveling to Kenya safaris
Wonderful things on this serene environment
of Kakamega rainforest .it is the only tropical rain forest in
Kenya and
stretched across the Central Africa to East Africa. The forest is located in
Western circuit of Kakamega County and has remained as the major tourists’
attraction in the area for many years.
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| Canopies of Kakamega forest |
The Rainforest is penetrated by a
network of hiking trails silent with only melody and lullabies of singing
birds, whispering trees, rasp of butterflies flying all over, the croaking
frogs echoing, chattering of monkeys as they jump from tree to tree another and
gurgling streams nearby giving you an exciting experience as you walk around
the forest with well trained guides that give a smile as they give history and
facts about of every attraction come across in the dense forest.
Kakamega Forest is the only lowland
rainforest area in Kenya and was ranked third highest priority for conservation
among forests in Kenya by the International union of Conservation of Nature
(IUCN).
Along with other forest areas in Kenya, Kakamega Forest has been
shrinking rapidly as human population growth and resource use have increased
tremendously in the last century.
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| The Great Blue Turaco Bird in Kakamega forest |
It is situated amidst Kenya's densest
populated agricultural region, with an approximately 1,000 people per square
kilometer living around. Although some sections of Kakamega Forest are now protected as
national forest reserves, the Luhya people who live around the forest still
rely heavily on it for their basic needs such as fuel wood, charcoal, timber,
medicine and meat. The pressure on the limited resources of Kakamega Forest has
increased alarmingly over the last decade and this call for government
intervention to curd the destruction of this natural beauty of Kakamega forest.
Apart from
various plants species, the forest has over 360 species of birds, 400 species
of butterflies, 7 species of primates, other animals include chameleons, and lizards.
It also has other touristic area in the County like the crying stone of Ilesi
which is about 17km from Kakamega rainforest.
Other mammals includes
,squirrels, Bush bucks, Aardvarks, porcupines, giant forest hogs and many
others game viewing animals.
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| The African Harrier Hawk at Kakamega Forest. |
The
rainforest is one of the best tourist destinations in Kenya and East Africa
that you can visit and explore on foot enjoying the wildlife in wilderness,
feeling fresh air of the dense rain forest viewing various canopies layers of
the rainforest with different medicinal plants species in the ecosystem among
other attractions.
With this western
circuit it has a wide option of choosing your preferred attraction ranging from
forest walking, camping ,hiking ,primate
watching, bird and butterfly watching, game watching, self-guided nature walks
and thus give you a true experience of Kenya Africa safaris
Sharon C
www.soinafricasafaris.com
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