MARSABIT NATIONAL PARK AND RESERVE

This place is God's gift; Opened in 1967, it lies in northern Kenya in a densely forested Mountain park and covers an area of 1,482sq. Kms.Its distance from Nairobi is 620 kms.  It is a nomadic rangeland and the drought land of the Rendille herdsmen. Its name means 'Mountain of Cold'. Marsabit Mountain is a natural phenomenon, born out of volcanic fire and shaped by mist. The mountain's great mass has created its own ambient climate. Every evening at around midnight, the hot air rising from the desert floor cools and forms clinging fingers of mist which grasp the mountain rarely releasing their grip until the late part of the morning.

It is the home of three beautiful crater lakes which are a home of a myriad of birds. The park is also known because it was once famous for its large tusker elephants but that was before the poachers slaughtered most the large ones, like the famous Ahmed, an elephant that was provided with a 24 hour protection by a presidential order. Ahmed, who boasted some of the biggest tusks ever recorded, died at age 55, and his body was preserved and is now on display in Nairobi National Museum. Elephants are still in abundance along with large herbs of kudu and many birds of prey.

Some of the Game in the reserve include; elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, buffalos, wart hogs, Grevy's Zebras (which are specific to northern Kenya), reticulated giraffes, hyenas, antelopes to mention but a few. It also has a variety of rare birds and among them are; the Somali ostrich, the rare masked lark and over 52 raptor species (eagle, buzzard, vulture). A special treat is the rare lammergeyer vulture. The area is especially good for butterfly viewing with a wide variety of species.

Marsabit Town is a staging post for the journey to Moyale and onwards to Ethiopia and also the beginning of an adventure, which intrepid travelers make when they cross the inhospitable Chalbi Desert to reach Lake Turkana. This shimmering and seemingly endless expanse of sand stretches for 300 kilometers to the shore of the lake of which it were once part. Even today, perhaps once in every decade, in one of the torrential downpours, which occur during a rare rainy season, it will again come into flood to form a vast but shallow lake.