Kenyalogy Kenyalogy - Kenya Safari Web - By Javier Yanes

Kenyalogy
All the Web
        Online Kenya travel guide founded in 2000
 
        Home | About Kenyalogy/Contact | Links | Site Map | Advertising | Español Español
 
  You are here: Home > Parks & reserves > Lake Baringo
 
  START HERE
  Planning your safari
  Visas & money
  Time & weather
  What to pack
  Sanitary info
  Useful facts
  FAQs about Kenya
  ON SAFARI
  Moving around
  Accommodation
  Health
  Safety
  Food
  Shopping
  Photo & video tips
  WHERE & WHAT
  Parks & reserves
  Wildlife
  Towns
  Beaches
  Historic places
  TO KNOW MORE
  Country basics
  Geography
  History
  Population
  Language
  Culture
  Economy
  MAGAZINE
  Special features
  Kenyalogy's 'Top 10s'
  Photo galleries
  And more...

  DOWNLOADS
  GPS waypoints
  Learn Swahili
  Kenyalogy in ebook
 
 


  Advertising

 
 
Parks & reserves: Lake Baringo
No Safari Card    Managed by: Baringo County
   Safari Card: No

 
Lake Baringo with hippo footprints on the foreground. Javier Yanes/Kenyalogy.com Lake Baringo with hippo footprints on the foreground. J.Y./Kenyalogy.com

 


General info

Lake Baringo is one of the water bodies that line up on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, the Earth's scar that crosses the East of Africa north to south. After the huge Turkana, Baringo is the second northernmost and largest in Kenya, with 130 km². Baringo and Naivasha stand up as the only freshwater shallows in the Kenyan Rift.

The lake is not officially ranked as a protected area, but that doesn't mean you don't have to pay. On the road to the lake, the Baringo County established a Visitors and Statistics Centre, which is just a fancy name for a toll gate. Fortunately, the 200 Kenyan shillings per person (for non-residents) are still very far away from the USD 80 you will have to pay in some national parks.

The large fresh water body is a shelter for more than 400 bird species that give the area its main attractive. The lake is -or used to be- a quiet and solitary oasis embedded in the abrupt and arid land that foresees the northern deserts. Until the end of the 19th century, Baringo and Bogoria were only visited by caravans of slaves; the remains of Fort Baringo, dating back to those years, are still visible. The lake was first described by Scottish explorer Joseph Thomson in 1883. Nine years later, in 1892, the English geologist J.W. Gregory explained the formation of the Rift Valley from his observations at Baringo.

Tourism in the area has increased over the last years, hence Baringo is no longer a place off the beaten track. Still, at the lake's shores you can enjoy a peaceful mood very different from the most crowded parks. Its chocolate waters, stained with the region's soil, change in tonality along the day and depending on the sky's colour. After the sunset, you may watch hippos emerging from the water to graze in noisy groups at the moonlit pastures.

The lake is also populated with crocodiles, considered harmless by the local Njemps people, paranilotic fishers and shepherds related to the Maasai that speak a dialect of the Maa language. The Njemps sail the lake in small boats and dip into the water for fishing, while crocodiles wander about with the same purpose. The locals state that fish abundance has supported the croc population in such a way that the reptiles have forgotten the taste for mammal's meat. In fact, the high fish concentration has accustomed the Njemps themselves to this kind of food, which is not very frequent among the pastoral tribes.

It is true though that the lake's crocodiles are small and, therefore, neither they are as dangerous as their bigger relatives nor they have been hassled by hunters. In spite of all, in 1981 a presumed man-eating reptile was shot down.

Baringo's fresh waters host a variety of fish which is not to be found in the alkaline lakes and which attracts a broad range of water birds. The rocky isle of Gibraltar, at the eastern shore, is blessed with the largest Goliath heron population in all East Africa. Another place of interest is the escarpment which lies next to the town of Kampi ya Samaki, at the western shore, where a lucky watcher could find Verreaux eagles, Hemprich's hornbills and bristle-crowned starlings.

In addition to bird watching walks and boat trips under the guidance of a professional ornithologist, the lake offers a range of activities which include fishing, water sports (ski, wind-surfing), camel rides, day trips to the nearby Lake Bogoria National Reserve and visits to a Njemps village, where you can get a sip of the local handcrafts and dances. Activities are mainly run by the lake's two lodges, Lake Baringo Club and Island Camp. Local fishermen also offer boat trips, during which they throw fresh fish as a bait for the fish eagles.

 


Home | About Kenyalogy/Contact | Site map | Advertising | Privacy & disclaimer
© Kenyalogy 2000-2013. All rights reserved.

Lake Baringo
Lake Baringo
    General info
    Access
    Wildlife
    Lodging
    Camping
    Nearby sites

Hints & regulation
Entry fees & Safari Card
Safari itineraries

Aberdare NP
Amboseli NP
Arabuko Sokoke FR
Arawale NR
Bisanadi NR
Boni NR
Buffalo Springs NR
Dodori NR
Hell's Gate NP
Lake Baringo
Lake Bogoria NR
Lake Elmenteita
Lake Naivasha
Lake Nakuru NP
Masai Mara NR
Meru NP
Mt. Kenya NP
Mt. Longonot NP
Nairobi NP
Samburu NR
Shaba NR
Shimba Hills NR
Tsavo East NP
Tsavo West NP

Advertising