Let us know a few more interesting facts about Kenya!
1. There is a village in the grasslands of Samburu in northern Kenya, and it’s rather unique. The village of Umoja—“unity” in Swahili— is guarded by a thorn fence, and for good reason: there are no men allowed there. It’s all women.
2. Kenya is located on the equator and as such, doesn’t have spring, summer, fall, and winter. Instead, temperatures are generally consistent all year round.
3. The Big Five is a term used by hunters, to describe Africa’s hardest animals to hunt: Lions, Elephants, Leopards, Rhinoceros, and Cape Buffalo. They can all be found in the Maasai Mara, which is also home to the Maasai people, known for their jumping dance and warrior skills. This is just one of many interesting facts about Kenya!
4. The Wildebeest Migration, is one of the “Seven New Wonders of the World”; there’s no other place on the planet that has a movement of animals as enormous as the wildebeest migration, with more than two million animals migrating from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the greener pastures of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
5. Heritage Site, Lamu Old Town, is Kenya’s oldest continually inhabited settlement, with origins dating back to the 12th century. You’d be surprised to know that Cars are banned for the general public here, and there aren’t enough roads that can accommodate vehicles on this island. That’s something unique, right?
6. Wangari Maathai, became the first African woman to win a Nobel peace prize in 2004, who was from Kenya. In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women’s rights. In 1984, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for “converting the Kenyan ecological debate into mass action for reforestation”.
7. Mount Kenya is the second-highest in Africa, and Kenya’s highest peak. This extinct volcano is located in the middle of the country, in Kenya National Park. Referred to as ‘Place of Light’, Mount Kenya has three summits – Batian, Nelion, and Lenana, the highest of which is 5,199 meters.
8. Today, KenGen has an installed capacity of 818MW of hydroelectric power drawn from about nine large power stations (more than 10MW) and about five other small hydropower stations. Hydro accounts for about 50% of KenGen’s total installed capacity.
9. Kenya has a diverse assortment of popular music forms, in addition to multiple types of folk music based on the variety of over 40 regional languages. Drums are the most dominant instrument in popular Kenyan music!
10. The country is known chiefly for its dominance in middle-distance and long-distance athletics. Kenya is represented by Lucas Onyango as a professional rugby league player who plays with the English club Oldham. While, you’d be surprised to know that Kenya’s Kalenjin tribe has been dubbed ‘the running tribe’ for its unbelievable ability to spawn world record-breaking runners.
So that was all about Kenya- World’s Safari Destination. Did you know? Uganda is not so far from Kenya, do checkout some amazing facts about Uganda as well!
