Attractions in Marsabit County
11. South Island National Park
Originally known as ‘Hornel Island’, the 39 km2 island stretching about 12 kms rises abruptly to an average of 1,400 ft near the southern limit of Lake Turkana and easily sighted from Loiyangalani. South Island National Park is the largest and southernmost island of the three main islands alongside North and Central Islands and part of the Lake Turkana National Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is an important flyway refuge and stopover for palaeartic migrant birds and is designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International. Sibiloi National Park was gazetted as a national park in 1973 whereas South and Central Islands were gazetted in 1983 and 1985 respectively. South Islands can be reached from Loiyangalani or Kalokol Bay via the hop-on hop-off boat taxis.
Covered end to end in volcanic ash, the nightly glow of its South Island’s luminous vents has inspired numerous tales of ghosts and evil spirits. The island is home to a profusion of birdlife including 34 species of European migrants most spectacularly viewed as they return home between March and May. At least 23 species breed here, including Goliath heron, and African skimmer, while African open-billed stork, Duck and Gulls feed on the shores and the volcanic island lakes attract lesser flamingos. Kenya Wildlife Service
12. Nabuyaton Cone
The discernible Nabuyaton Cone which in the Turkana dialect mean the “place of the war horn” is one of the rare examples of a perfect-cinder-volcano formed from the remnants of a collapsed deep volcano. Situated close to the southern peninsula of Lake Turkana, Nabuyaton Cone was made famous by aerial shots taken in 2011 by acclaimed photographer Martin Harvey while accompanying clients on exclusive helicopter safaris in Namibia, Botswana and Kenya. Despite its almost non-existent mention in modern travel chronicles, the oddity of the Nabuyaton Cone, which rises to about 384 ms, had been widely popular among early-day explorers including Count Teleki. It was a major landmark along the ‘Champagne Route to Abyssinia’ that passed through this region. Aside from its spectacular aerial photos, Nabuyaton Cone is inaccessible because of the steep rock walls. “On the foreshore some five miles away at the end of a stream of lava which seemed to issue from under my feet, stood the cone of Nabuyaton, from here as elsewhere a conspicuous feature of the landscape. On the left stood the great escarpment which I had descended 2 days before, and some fragmentary cones and curious boil-like hills lay scattered like islands in a sea of dark rugged rusty-looking black lava. – Britannica – In Search of the Teleki’s Volcano, 1928.
13. El Molo Village
The El Molo are a tiny tribal community with only about 800 known members surviving and who all live along the fringes of Lake Turkana near Loiyangalani. Bearing common roots and ancestry to the Rendille, the El Molo Tribe is fast-becoming extinct and their language and customs, as anthropologists like to explain, are expected to fade-away in a few decades. For now, they all dwell in the peaceful El Molo Village comprised of woven palm frond traditional huts. Unique to the El Molo Tribe is that they have no livestock unlike most of tribes in the region and rely almost exclusively on fishing. By the same token, the El Molo lack adequate subsistence and livelihood to thrive in this barbarous area.
14. Mount Kulal
Of the landforms within Marsabit County, it is the chain of hills seen along the southwest border (having an average height of 2000-2500 ms and 1500-2000 ms above the surrounding landscape) that leave an indelible impression on the traveller. Equally impressive are the chain of hills which occur in the northeast area near the boundary with Ethiopia. These hills are not only critical in terms of the surface extent but are also important as water catchments areas. Among these important hills are Kulal, Marsabit and Hurri and their surrounding foot slopes. Located just east of Loiyangalani and Lake Turkana with a north-south strike, Mount Kulal is a biosphere with a variety of landscapes and habitats that are best seen along the hiking trails. The fact that Mount Kulal attracts plenty of rain promotes the growth of thick forests on the upper reaches and flourishes farmlands on the footslopes. In the lowest part of Kulal’s landscape where water stagnates, evaporation leaves in it wake salt pans. The Chalbi Desert north and east of Mount Kulal is the result of such a process: A saline area where plant growth is virtually absent due to toxic levels of salt in the soil. The eroded-down extinct mountain of Kulal, that rises to 1,800 ms, is widely known for its deep crater often capped by rain and mist forest. Of interest for travellers to Mount Kulal are the battery of hot-springs and panoramic vistas of Suguta Valley and Chalbi Desert both stretching away as far as the eye can see. Often veiled by a grey mist of clouds, Mount Kulal eminently marks the western end of Chalbi Desert that marches north-bound from here for almost 100 kms to North Horr.
15. Mount Marsabit
“Amidst the flat country, the pinnacles of the mountains announce the arrival of Marsabit, historically the principal centre of the Cushitic Rendille” – Nation Media. Quite unmistakable on arrival at Marsabit Town is the prominent peak of Mount Marsabit rising to 1,230 ms and the most prominent landmark for miles out and easily sighted from 20 kms out. Marsabit is reached by way of the A2 Road 96 kms north of Laisamis. Shortly before arriving at the main Marsabit Town this roads travels across an usually green belt and also separates Marsabit National Reserve and Marsabit National Park. Mount Marsabit and the verging series of smaller hills forms a small frontier of beautiful wooded greens betwixt the vast shrubland. Due to its elevation in altitude and mountain effect, the area around Mount Marsabit is opportune for agriculture and is assuredly the most densely populated area in Marsabit County. It is located 560 kms from Nairobi.
Abiri Kenya 