The Teariffic Countryside
A Summa Digest of Kericho County
61 km from Nakuru, the busy procession on the A104 Mombasa-Uganda Road, travelling northwest from Mombasa to Kampala in the south-western quarter of Kenya, is offloaded by B1 Mau Summit-Kericho-Kisumu-Busia Road. This is the primary line of communication in Kericho County, and much of western Kenya. The B1 travels just north of west through Kericho town and Kisumu city, before taking a northwest swing aiming for Busia. The drive from Mau Summit turnoff to Kericho, distance 46 km, travels just outside Mau Forest Complex, in the southern part of the county, with the land rising eastwards towards the summit of the Mau.
The most conspicuous and important natural landmark in Kericho is the dome of the Mau Complex, sometime known as the Mau Highland, rising 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) at its highest points. It is marked by deep gorges and valleys on one side, and a belt of tea farms straddling the forest flanks, to form a wildly-scenic roadside panorama. The Mau also contributes much to the pleasant climate of Kericho County. In spite of the fact that it lies just below the Equator at the heart of the warm tropics, rendering much of other regions in Kenya astride the same line semi-arid, Kericho County is pretty verdant with a fair amount of rainfall year long.
By the same token, in the north-east area of Kericho County, the vast, equally impressive Tinderet Mountain forms smaller independent peaks. Much the same, the B1 Mau Summit-Kericho-Kisumu-BusiaRoad is offloaded by C35 Londiani-Kisumu Road, which bypasses Kericho town, travelling 10 km north of the B1. The C35 Road generally follows the higher ridges of the Mau, past the volcanic pile of Tinderet near Kipkelion, before dropping into the Kipchoriet Gorge as a means of descend from 2,438 ms (8,000 ft) at Mau to 1,135 ms (3,726 ft) at Lake Victoria.
The main railway-line from Mombasa via Nairobi to Kisumu, the infamous Lunatic Line, traverses the area from east to west using the Kipchoriet gorge as a means of descent from the 8,OOO-footdivide at Mau to Lake Victoria. Tinderet rises to over 8,100 feet from the plain on the west. Viewed from the plain, Tinderet Mountain has the typical appearance of a volcano, but this is less apparent from the south since the peak is joined by a shoulder, at little less than its maximum elevation, to even higher ground to the north-east in the region of Equator. The higher parts of the peak are thickly forested then engulfed almost in totality by lovely tea farms.
In the north-east area of Kericho, apart from Tinderet Forest, the land is also heavily utilized for farming, especially for tea. On the flanks of Tinderet there are coffee plantations and on the Kano Plains, where rain is less reliable. The central and western part of the area consists of a wide plain over which the Nyando River and its tributaries meander at an elevation little above that of Lake Victoria. These plains are bounded on the north by a precipitous scarp running parallel with the Equator, while to the south the land flows to wedge out towards Lake Victoria.
Analogously, much of Kericho’s beauty arises from its landscape that is neither rugged nor flat, but is gently rounded. The hill slopes are reasonably steep, but they do not form cliffs or slopes too sheer for cultivation. Most of these hills are also of similar height. Although the eastern area of Kericho is much higher, as it rises towards the Mau Escarpment, the land is fairly smooth. Most of the area in the west, bounded easterly and southeast by Mau Complex is under true-blue farms, thanks to year-round pleasant weather, fertile soils, and reliable rainfall.
Kericho County is per excellence a tea country. Tea is one of the most important exports of East Africa and it is particularly important in Kenya, which produces and exports more tea than Tanzania and Uganda combined. Although there are a few areas within Kenya where tea is a major crop, for example, Nyeri, Nandi and Kiambu Counties, over half the land growing tea in Kenya, and utilizing modern methods, is found in Kericho. The tea line is bound on the north by Nyando fault-scarp, and, on the east, straddling the boundary with Nandi County, by Tinderet.
Salient Features of Kericho County
- County Number 35
- Area – 2111 km2
- Altitude – 7165 ft
- Major Towns – Londiani, Kericho, Kipkelion
- Borders – Nandi, U. Gishu, Baringo, Homabay Nakuru, Bomet, Kisumu
Located in southwestern part of Kenya within the former Rift Valley Province, Kericho County, a healthful highland, has innumerable picture-postcard tea-farm vistas. Kericho County is famous for its vast tea plantations. It is all around a tea-riffic countryside clutching traditions and culture with one hand and a forward-looking yen on the other. It is home to large forests, historic sites and resorts, too.
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Explore Destinations in Kericho County
A Guide to Kericho County
A Summa Digest of Kericho
About Kericho Way Back When
35 Destinations in Kericho County, arranged as one would visit these - east, north, south then west - with aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Mau Forest Reserve, Chereres Waterfalls, A.I.C Kericho, Chesumot Estate, Chagaik Arboretum, Chesumot Dam, Kimugu River Lodge, James Finlays Tea Factory, Dimbolil Dam, The Sacred Heart Cathedral, A.C.K Kericho, Kericho Golf Club, Gurdwara Sahib, Kericho Wagon Works, Kericho Tea Hotel, Chebown Sanctuary, Chelimo Arboretum, Tagabi Monkey Sanctuary, Changoi Tea Estate, Chebulu Conservancy, The Kiptui Falls, Kapkatet Kipsigis Cultural Museum, The Tulwap-Kipsigis Hill, Londiani-Koru-Awasi Route, Londiani Dam, Masaita Forest Station, KFC Hospitality Centre, Londiani Falls, Kimasian Railway Bridge, Kiminket Garden, Kipkelion Monastery, The Van Wicker's Cave, Fort Tenan Pre-Historic Site, Tinderet Mountain, Ole Soi Resort, Bagao Caves
Know More About Kericho County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including a distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
What’s The Air Like In Kericho?
The annual mean temperature ranges between 29oC and 10oC. The central part of the county, where tea is grown, receives the highest rainfall.
What’s The Lay Of The Land In C.35?
Kericho has an undulating topography, with the overall slope of the land being to the west – forming a hilly shelf between the Mau Hills and the lowlands of Kisumu.
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