Kenya is the heart of African safari
country, housing the most diverse
collection of wild animals on the
continent. Kenya has some of the world’s
most spectacular wildlife parks,
beaches, coral reefs, mountain scapes
and ancient Swahili cities. However, it
is the game parks, which attract people
to Kenya. The main parks in Kenya are
Masai Mara National Reserve,Samburu,
Amboseli, Tsavo, Nairobi, Lamu, Marsabit
National Park & Reserve and Mombasa.
Masai Mara National Reserve is the most
popular game park in Kenya. It is a
massive 320-sq-km reserve, which is
filled with wildlife. Here you will spot
lions, elephants, buffalos, zebras and
hippos. You may also catch the lions
hunting. As it is a reserve rather than
a national park the Maasai people are
allowed to graze and hunt animals here.
Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and is a
great place to get a taste of urban
African life. The main places to visit
here is River Rd, the National Museum,
the Snake Museum, the National Archives
and the Nairobi National Park.
Lamu is situated on Kenya's upper East
Coast. Lamu is a relaxed medieval style
area. While here you should visit the
Lamu Museum, the Swahili House Museum
and the Donkey Sanctuary. You should
also experience the trip by dhow.
Marsabit National Park & Reserve has one
of Kenya’s most scenic and tranquil camp
sites. It is almost essential to camp
here to see all of what the park has to
offer because of the abundance of thick
forest. The larger mammals reside in
this park including lions, leopards,
cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, buffalos,
warthogs, zebras, giraffes, hyenas and
gazelles.
Mombasa is the largest port on the coast
of East Africa. It is packed with
spectacular wooden shopfronts and
balconies, which will amaze you. The
most popular attraction is Fort Jesus,
which dominates the harbour entrance. A
string of beautiful beaches line the
coast just south of the town.
Culture
There are over 70 tribal groups amongst
the Africans in Kenya.
English and Swahili are the main
languages spoken throughout the country,
however, there are many other tribal
languages. Another language you might
come across is Sheng, spoken by the
younger members of society. Sheng is a
mixture of Swahili and English along
with a few other languages.
Most Kenyans are Christians, however,
most of those on the coast and in the
eastern part of the country are Muslim.
Muslims make up some 30% of the
population. In the more remote tribal
areas you'll find a mixture of Muslims,
Christians and those who follow their
ancestral tribal beliefs.
Kenyans love to party, and the music
style is known as benga. It originated
among the Luo people of western Kenya
and became popular in the area in the
1950s.
Kenyan cuisine generally consists of
stodge filler with beans or a meat
sauce. Kenyans love beer almost as much
as their dancing and there's a huge
local brewing industry.
Local_Currency
The currency in Kenya Shillings.
Full banking services are available in
major towns, and you can exchange
traveller's checks quite easily. In
remote towns and villages where there
are no established banks, travelling
banks are available weekly or monthly.
These rural banking services might
change traveller's checks but are not
likely to change cash. Most major credit
cards are accepted at tourist hotels and
restaurants in the larger cities and
towns.
Transport
The easiest and quickest way to travel
around Kenya is by flying. With around
250 airports and plenty of airlines
connecting Nairobi with Mombasa, Kisumu,
Nanyuki, Malindi, Lamu and the national
parks/reserves of Amboseli, Masai Mara
and Samburu. Another good way to travel
is by train, these operate to most
places around Kenya and are fairly
reliable. Buses are also available and
are equally reliable as trains. Car hire
is readily available, however it can be
expensive. You may prefer to take the
more scenic route and sail along the
East African coast on a dhow.
Visa_Information
All visitors require a visa except
citizens of some Commonwealth countries
and citizens of selected countries such
as Denmark, Germany, the Republic of
Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, South
Africa and Sweden.