11 Photos That Prove There Is a Lot More About Turkana Region Than You Have Been Made To Believe

I have recently been on a mission to travel across Kenya because I would feel a lot of shame when tourists would know more about Kenya than I did.

Sometimes local people are guilty of not seeing their own land. It happens. But in the last few months, I have been rectifying that on my part. In the last one year, I have been to most major destinations in Kenya, apart from one: Northern Kenya. You can probably guess why I hadn’t been there. Stories abound of how Northern Kenya is a godforsaken land, full of warring tribes, depressing poverty and hunger. I held off for some months, but finally this biting cold July in Nairobi convinced me that it would be the perfect time for me to finally take the plunge and escape to the desert in Northern Kenya and just see for myself what the place looks like. I was pleasantly surprised and you will be too. Walk with me as I show you what I discovered there:

1. One of the unique things is that Northern Kenya has a sandy surface, like a beach, but with savannah vegetation like acacia etc

2. Yes there are manyattas spread out randomly across the landscape

3. The lovely sunset as I concluded my first day there

4. Here is the entrance to where I was staying. Eliye Springs Resort

5. Yes people, Northern Kenya has sandy beaches with palm trees and everything. It’s like a 2nd coast!

6. And what’s that peeking out in the background?

7. Lake. freaking. Turkana. Gaze at it’s marvellous beauty. Seems like an ocean from here

8. And the accommodation were these cute manyattas as well. A taste of the tribal experience of the area

9. What’s cool is these manyattas provide employment for the local women around Lake Turkana. Here they are building one

10. A close up of the beach. Look closely in the distance you can see the other side of the lake

11. And some customary selfies to prove I was really there 🙂

I’m on a boat! 😀

And with that was the end of my brief journey to Lake Turkana

So there you have it. Lake Turkana up close and candid. Far from the wasteland portrayed even by our local media. As people were freezing in the July weather of Nairobi, I was busy basking in the shining sun over there. There are only about 4 days of rain in some areas of Northern Kenya, so it’s the perfect place to go sun chasing within Kenya if the weather turns cold wherever you are. Fine there are some skirmishes every now and then, however, the hoteliers who welcomed me assured me that they are only isolated to the bundus. If you travel there and stick to your path to the hotel, you should be fine. Also, going there brings money into the local economy, which is what is going to help the residents of that place escape from the poverty that grips them currently. So give Turkana a chance one of these days. Who knows? It could be the next big desert destination for fun and frolic!