Where to go when around Lake Victoria
Where to go when around Lake Victoria in Kenya : There are many Kenya Safari destinations to visit around Lake Victoria while on the Kenyan Side. These include the following safari destinations;
Ndere Island National Park
Ndere Island National Park is a national park in Kenya that is situated near Lake Victoria. This national park, which is one of Kenya’s smallest at just 4 square kilometres, is also known by the moniker Island of Serenity and Beauty. This Kenya tour and safari destination is located 41.2 kilometres from Kisumu via the Kisian-Bondo-Udenge road and 381 kilometres from Nairobi’s capital via Naivasha and Nakuru. With the intention of preserving the island’s distinctive biological features and species, the park was created in November 1986. It has subsequently been a protected area under the Kenya Wildlife Service. This island is home to numerous birds, who use it as a haven. Ndere Island National Park is located within Lake Victoria, the largest freshwater lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake globally.
Mfangano Island
Mfangano is in southwest Kenya, near Lake Victoria. With a two-way precipitation pattern, the region is categorised as semi-arid to semi-humid. The vegetation is varied and primarily composed of dense forest trees and bushes deeper down, with sections of forest and grassland on the hills. The name may have originated from the fact that Mfangano Island offered sanctuary to towns that the more numerous Luo peoples had conquered on the mainland. The Wagimbe, Wisokolwa, Kakimba-Wiramba, Wasamo, Wagire, Wakula, Wakinga, Wakisori, Wakisasi, Waozi, Walundu, Wiyokia, Walowa, Waganda, and Wakiaya people lived on the island in four to eleven generational cohorts.
The name Mfangano Island is Ivangano (meaning reconciliation) among the Abasuba people. After a 17th-century conflict amongst the locals was resolved through a reconciliation ceremony, the island received its name. The island is well known for its sacred sites and ancient rock art sites.
Rock paintings
A Prehistoric rock art from the Twa people, who were among the first hunters and gatherers, is located on Mfangano Island. The Twa people, sometimes called Batwa or pygmies, are supposed to be a lost African tribe living close to the Great Lakes. Nearly all of the artwork on the website consists of groupings of concentric circles in red, white, or black. The artwork is characteristic of what is commonly referred to as “Twa” art, which originated in northern Kenya and extended southward before coming to a stop north of the Zambezi River. Its expansion throughout Africa spans from northern Mozambique to Angola.
Sacred sites in Mfangano Island
There are 36 different types of sacred places on Mfangano Island, 19 of which may be located and are still intact. The elderly still tell legends of the other 17, even though they are virtually extinct. Most of the sites are associated with rain-related practices and represent the relationship between God and humans. The villagers believe that the sacred groves, for example, warn people of impending peril by usually erupting in a cloud of fog or producing a loud noise. The people would pay attention to the warnings and provide animal sacrifices in order to appease the spirits. The sacred woodlands serve as ancestral sites, it also impart discipline and solidarity to the Abasuba.
Mawanga Rock
This area has an eight-square-meter art panel that is composed of groups of concentric rings with visible pictures layered on top of each other. There is a panel painted in black and white which is a locally acknowledged natural formation in the base rock that resembles fingerprints known as the “Hand of God.” It’s in the rear of the cave, beneath a little overhang. The rear wall and ceiling of the cave are decorated with magnificent natural cupules. The Wasamo clan’s elders believe that the paintings were made by their distant ancestors to represent designs they saw on their shields. Their ancestors used the cave and shields as a kind of intimidation after defeating the Waozi, Wasasi, and Walundu clans of Abasuba. The “Hand of God,” which is still believed to have healing powers, lends the paintings greater vigour. The idea is that by placing their hand in the natural creation, the sick will get some kind of benefit.
Kakamega Forest
Kakamega Forest National Park and Lake Victoria are around 50 kilometres apart. It is located northwest of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and close to the country’s border with Uganda. The national park is covered with thick tropical trees, the last remaining remnant of the old Guineo-Congolian rainforest that had covered a significant portion of Africa. It was made a national forest in 1985.What sets the Kakamega Forest apart is its extraordinarily wet climate. The region receives up to 1,700 mm of rain per year. Kakamega Forest National Park is home to an incredible array of unusual trees, including elgon teak and red and white stinkwood. There are around 60 orchid species that live in the forests, nine of which are exclusive to those specific forests. The birdlife of Kakamega Forest National Park is abundant.
There are over 365 distinct bird species can be found including the critically endangered west African Great blue turaco and the white-and-black casqued hornbill. Nine globally unique bird species can be found in the national park. Among the many endangered species found in Kakamega Forest National Park are the African clawless other, the enormous African water shrew, the tree pangolin, the blue and red-tail monkeys, and the De Brazza’s monkey.
There are two rare insects found here : the pink and green-flowered mantis and the goliath beetle. The southernmost portion of Kakamega Forest National Park is the most easily accessible for tourists. Kenya tour safari activities in Kakamega include hiking, forest hikes, tours with monkeys, bird and butterfly observation, and village visits. Popular tours include those to view the Crying Stone and Mama Mtere Tree, the forest’s most photographed tree.
