OFF THE BEATEN PATH - LAKE TURKANA NATIONAL PARKS

Lake Turkana National Parks is a group of three national parks located in Kenya. This place offers a rare chance to explore an untouched area of the world. Extremely arid, the Turkana area may receive rainfall as seldom as once every five years.

 Lake Turkana is the only permanent source of water in the area and the Gabbra and Merille tribes in the area are utterly reliant upon the lake and the camels with which they live. This is one of the few areas left in the world where one may visit a true practicing desert tribe, unaffected by the Twenty first century.

Lake Turkana itself is the most saline of Africa's large lakes and the largest desert lake in the world surrounded by an arid, seemingly extraterrestrial landscape that is often devoid of life. The long body of Lake Turkana drops down along the Rift Valley from the Ethiopian border, extending 249 kilometers from north to south and 44 km at its widest point with a depth of 30 meters. It is Africa's fourth largest lake, fondly called the Jade Sea because of its breathtaking color. The Lake appears as a mirage from the depths of the Chalbi desert in the Northern district of Kenya.

Nearly 90% of the lake’s water comes from Ethiopia via the Omo River, the delta of which extends into Ethiopia. Most of the rest comes from two southern tributaries, the Kerio and the Turkwel, which has been dammed. The lake sustains 60 species of fish which are much sought-after by anglers, including tiger, cat and puffer fish, tilapia and Nile perch.

On the west side of the lake is Kalokol, Lobolo Springs and Eliye Springs which are interesting places to visit, whilst Central Island can be accessed from Kalokol.

• Kalokol itself is a small town with an abandoned fish factory being its most prominent feature. It is best as the place to leave for visits to the island.

• The springs have swimming pools that are normally fed by the springs, and lakes in which you can swim.

Turkana is an outstanding laboratory for the study of plant and animal communities. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 and expanded in 2001. Reasons for the park's importance include its use as a stopping point for migratory birds, as a breeding ground for the Nile crocodile, hippopotamus, and snakes. It also contains fossils in the Koobi Fora deposits which are unique in the world

The Koobi Fora deposits, rich in mammalian, molluscan and other fossil remains, have contributed more to the understanding of paleo-environments than any other site on the continent.

Lake Turkana National Parks are constituted of Sibiloi National Park, the South Island and the Central Island National Parks, covering a total area of 161,485 hectares located within the Lake Turkana basin whose total surface area is 7 million ha. The

The property represents unique geo-morphological features with fossil deposits on sedimentary formations as well as one hundred identified archaeological and paleontological sites. There are numerous volcanic overflows with petrified forests. The existing ecological conditions provide habitats for maintaining diverse flora and fauna.

At Kobi Fora to the north of Allia Bay, extensive paleontological finds have been made, starting in 1969, with the discovery of Paranthropus boisei. The discovery of Homo habilis thereafter is evidence of the existence of a relatively intelligent hominid two million years ago and reflect the change in climate from moist forest grassland when the now petrified forest were growing to the present hot desert. The human and pre-human fossils include the remains of five species, Austrolophithecus anamensis, Homo habilis/rudolfensis, Paranthropus boisei, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens all found within one locality. These discoveries are important for understanding the evolutionary history of the human species.

It has three volcanic islands, north, central and south:

Central Island

The Central Island National Park protects two lakes in craters, of which one is Flamingo Crater and attracts up to 20,000 lesser flamingos every year. These are not the only birds; goliath and grey herons are common, and Eurasian spoonbills nest on the cliffs and are often seen. Crocodiles and large water turtles are also common here. It is difficult to reach and is in effect a small active volcano with three saline carter lakes known as Flamingo, Crocodile and Tilapia it is believed to support the world’s largest population of Nile crocodiles Along the shoreline, there are plains and grevy’s zebra, topi, oryx, reticulated giraffe, greater kudu and Grant’s gazelle. 

South Island

South Island is 39 sq km and was established as a national park in 1983 again for the protection of the Nile crocodile's breeding ground. South Island is also home to several species of venomous snakes, including vipers, puff adders and cobras. It is also an important breeding ground for hippos and is home to a flock of feral goats.

The terrain of South Island is rugged, access is difficult and there is no permanent human settlement on the island, making it one of Kenya's most inhospitable parks. Only well-equipped travellers should consider making the trip out to the island. To get there from the mainland, you will need to hire a boat and guide from Loiyangalani, it's a 30-km round trip by boat.

Teleki and Mount Kulal

There are two outstanding volcanoes in the reserve,

Teleki, that bounds the southern end of the lake, and Mount Kulal, that stands at 2285 m high, an extraordinary much-eroded tertiary volcanic mountain with its ridge running parallel to Lake Turkana, 24 km to the east. Both mountains are a pretty straightforward climb if you are suitably equipped. Mount Kulal is covered by thick lush green forest in marked contrast to the desolate lava moonscape of the southern shores of Lake Turkana. Its ridge runs in a north-south direction, with deep gorges radiating to the east and west.

El Kajarta

This is a great gorge with vertical walls rising over 300 m, located to the southeast of Kulal, which appears to almost split the mountain in two. El Kajarta Gorge can be accessed with difficulty around the east side of the mountain.

Sibiloi National Park

Lying on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana in the far north of Kenya, just 30 km to the border with Ethiopia, it is one of the less well known of Kenya's national parks, despite its large size of 2575 sq km. It is now designated a World Heritage Site although it has no tourist facilities because of its isolated geographical location.

 

 

 

The landscape is relatively verdant lakeside terrain with grassy plains with yellow spear grass and doum palms, extending to dry semi-desert. The National Park extends well into Lake Turkana in the process encompassing a large portion of Lake Turkana's huge population of Nile crocodile.

Within the park stands a petrified forest, which serves as a reminder that seven million years ago, this area was lush and densely populated. The national park was originally established by the National Museum of Kenya to protect the unique prehistoric archaeological sites. In 1960-1970s the Leakeys made many remarkable fossil finds of humans from 10,000-12,000 years ago. These finds included Homo Habilis and Homo Erectus, which dated man's origin to three million years ago.

Koobi Fora palaeontological site is located here, as is a museum near the park's headquarters which houses the remains of prehistoric elephants among other things. This is generally unstaffed and only open when there are researchers in the area, but there are some simple bandas to sleep in. Over 4000 fossil specimens have been found in this area. Important finds include the hominid remains, the shell of a giant tortoise believed to be over three million years old, the fossilized remains of the elephant's forebear - the behemoth with massive tusks, and crocodile jaws measuring over 1.5 m (which equates to an overall length of over 14 m). The discovery of these fossils has resulted in a greater understanding of the environment one to three million years ago.

 

Sibiloi is very remote and only fully equipped expeditions should attempt the drive there. The two main routes to the park headquarters at Alia Bay are from Loyangalani and from Marsabit. It is about 120 km from Loyangalani along an unpaved trail through the desert to North Horr and then northwest to Alia Bay, the park HQ. This is only passable by 4WD. Alia Bay is Sibiloi Park's Headquarters with some official buildings, an airstrip and a campsite. The campsite is located beside a dry river bed about 4 km from the airstrip.

El Molo Bay

This is the home of the smallest tribe in Kenya, the el Molo. The grass shelters that are their homes sit prettily on the bank from which they make their living on subsistence fishing, and the people are extremely friendly, so the price it costs to walk through the village is worth it. This money is payment for photographs amongst other things.

Sugata Valley

It is on the southern shore of Lake Turkana and is a most interesting place to visit, with the valley being the hottest and most hostile place on earth. Temperatures reach up to 60° Celcius, and the perfect cone of Mount Nyiru is one of the most interesting parts of the scenery. The barren and remote wilderness, as well as the lava flows from the Teleki volcano are the main features of this valley.

Isolated and unvisited by the common tourist circuits, Lake Turkana offers a unique experience to those willing to travel a little further off the beaten track.