Activities to do at Marsabit National Park
Far to the north of Kenya, a densely forested mountain and three crater lakes provide a haven for a variety of birdlife, mammals and reptiles. This small park, nestled on Mt Marsabit’s upper slopes are coated in thick forest and contain a wide variety of wildlife, including leopards, elephants (some with huge tusks) and buffaloes. The dense forest makes spotting wildlife very difficult, but fortunately, help is at hand in the form of a couple of natural clearings with semi-permanent lakes, where animal sightings are almost guaranteed.
Visiting Marsabit National Park will reward you with a mind-blowing adventure, and some unique experience such as;
Game drives
Game viewing can be done in the park, and a number of wildlife are occasionally spotted. The park is known for having elephants with huge tasks and contains a wide variety of wildlife, including Grevy’s zebras, lions, leopards, buffalos, bushbucks, numerous greater plus lesser kudus, prevalent zebras, Grant’s gazelles and several other tiny antelopes. On the lower slopes of the forest of the park, marked by scrubland, there are populations of olive baboons, vervet monkeys, Peter’s gazelles, beisa oryxes, striped hyenas, caracals, and aardwolves. The park is famous for its elephant named Ahmed that was provided with 24hr security surveillance by presidential decree in the ’70s, to demonstrate Kenya’s commitment to wildlife conservation. In the 1970s, the park achieved fame for reputedly having elephants with the longest tusks in the world. One elephant, named Ahmed, was under constant surveillance, and when he died his tusks were found to weight over 300 kg. Black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys are often around as well.
Bird watching safaris
Number of bird species can be spotted in the dense forest, and around the crater lakes. Take a walk into the forest to search for the winged one, as you enjoy a wonderful nature walk here, spotting numerous bird species, later drive to crater lake to add on your count. The park contains some 350 species of birds in total, of which 52 are birds of prey. The cliffs in the northern end of Lake Paradise, in Golf Sokorte Gurda, are home to a number of birds, including Ruppell’s griffon vultures, peregrine falcons, mountain buzzards, black kites, and African fish eagles. Ducks such as garganeys, southern pochards, and teals are found on the lake, which is also home to Red-knobbed coots, hamerkops, ibises, purple herons, and yellow-billed storks
Camel safaris
Camel safaris to the adjacent plains guided by the native people of this area is one of the wonderful moment on how to explore the destination, as your local guide follow you along on another camel, sharing with you beautiful stories of this great destination.
Visit the singing well.
Visit the “singing wells’ where the locals sing various interesting songs as they draw water from the well for their livestock, this will reward you with a great moment, as you see how the local pastoralists fetch water for their livestock’s, as they accompany with great beautiful melodies
Visit Lake Paradise
This is one of the most beautiful and stunning Lakes located in the hearts of Marsabit National Park and on the slopes of mount Marsabit, northern Kenya, about a 10 km drive from the park’s Ahmed gate and the town of Marsabit.
Not far from here is a smaller but similar lake, inside ‘Golf Sokorte Dika’ or ‘Small sweet water crater’ — a popular hangout for elephants and other wildlife.
Together, the two are some of the best places to spot animals, like the rest of the park, are covered in dense forest, especially during hot sunny days, as many wildlife converge here to drink water.
The area around it highly affected by climate, being a lush green during the rains and golden during the drier times. A number of bird species are also spotted here.
Visit Bongole Crater
Gof Bongole is a crater(s) and is located in Eastern, Kenya. The estimate terrain elevation above sea level is 845 meters. Golf Bongole is south of Balesa Bongole. With a diameter of 2.5km, the crater was formed as a result of the reaction between magma and underground water. The crater floor has a lake, whose volume of water varies with rainfall variation, and the vegetation ranges from green mash during the wet season to drier beds during the drier season. The crater serves as a great animal spotting ground as very many wildlife are spotted around to feed on the grasses during drier times and to drink water as well as leaking the salty soils.
Mountain/Rock Climbing
The impressively stark the massif of Ol Olokwe, south of Marsabit, has some excellent climbing routes. Ropes and Equipment, and a guide with some good local knowledge are all required.
Cultural treat.
Visit the local villages and have a tour to their farms, interact with the local or go grazing, and enjoy a wonderful interactive guide into the culture as you explore the beautiful landscape. You may as well have a cultural performance arranged at your hotel in the evening to color out your evening stay.
Camping adventure.
Those who love outdoor an adventure such as camping, there are two campsites available, well equipped with great environment to spice your visit to this remote area as you explore the park.
Trekking
Marsabit is a good area to explore on foot, and there are many interesting hikes out of Marsabit town. There are plenty of interesting local sites within walking distance, including some impressive Volcanic Craters. Just outside Marsabit are a series of Borana wells. These deep wells are used to water herds of cattle. The depth of each well means that several men have to descend into the well, and use a chain of buckets to transfer water up to the waiting herds. These wells are found throughout this area and are vital to the survival of the Borana.