Western Kenya Highlands: Nandi Hills, Tea & Scenic Landscapes
The highlands above Kisumu — the Nandi Hills, Kericho tea country, and the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley — offer landscapes of extraordinary beauty and cultural diversity within easy reach of the lake city
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Nandi Hills Tea Estates
The Nandi Hills above Kisumu are covered with tea estates producing western Kenyan highland tea – the geometric rows of tea bushes, the mist and the view down to Lake Victoria are striking
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Kericho Tea Country
Kericho - an hour from Kisumu - is the tea capital of Kenya; the rolling hills of dark green tea bushes, colonial tea company estates and tea factory tours define the western Kenya highlands experience
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Kakamega Forest Reserve
Kakamega Forest – Kenya's only remaining equatorial rainforest – is 45 km north of Kisumu; red-tailed monkeys, hornbills and rare butterflies inhabit the last remnant of the Congo Basin forest
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Eldoret and Athlete Country
The area north of Kisumu around Eldoret and Iten is the training base for Kenya's world-class distance runners — the altitude (2,400m), the red dirt courses and the running culture are an extraordinary phenomenon
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Cherangani Hills Walking
The Cherangani Hills northeast of Kisumu offer highland walks through montane forests, heaths and the territory of the indigenous Sengwer community - one of Kenya's less visited highlands
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Rift Valley Escarpment View
The western escarpment of the Great Rift Valley above Kisumu – looking east from Kericho or the Nandi Hills – provides one of Africa's great geographical views across the Rift to the distant eastern highlands