Kakamega forest is the only remnant in Kenya of the once great tropical rainforest that stretched across Central Africa, also known as the Guineo-Congolian forest. About 10,000 years ago when the climate became drier the area of the rainforest shrank to what it was about 250 years ago. With time, much of the indigenous forest has been cut down as people needed the land for farming and Kakamega forest has become an exotic isolated relic of this vast African equatorial jungle, making it a unique habitat in Kenya. To the local Luhya people, Kakamega forest has not only been a generous supplier of firewood and building materials for centuries, medicinal plants are being used to heal all kinds of illnesses. Due to commercial exploitation and increased population in the area the future of the forest was uncertain untill two nature reserves (Yala and Isecheno) in 1967 were being created and in 1985 two more reserves in the northern part of the forest (Buyangu and Kisere) were being created, somehow reducing the pressure on the forests natural resources. [excerpt on Kakamega from Africa-expert]
I've been wanting to visit Kakamega for a loong time, and finally, we made a trip there to visit the mystical forest. Kakamega is famous for its biodiversity and butterflies. We arrived during dry season, so there isn't much butterflies; however, there are still plenty of monkeys, birds, bats...etc.
We stayed at the beautiful and serene Rhondo Retreat...a bit of a splurge vs. my normal backpacking accommodation, but it's well worth the $50/night, which includes breakfast, afternoon tea, lunch, and dinner. The place felt very colonial (like many other cottages in Kenya), but that didn't really bother me. This may be a bit premature to think about considering I'm only in my 30's, but places like the Rhondo Retreat feels like the perfect retirement spot! Labor is cheap (hence you can hire ppl to take care of the place), the weather is perfect, the food is fresh, air is crisp...imagine owning a place like this, rent it out to tourist to generate some income, and save a room or two for yourself. There's nothing more serene and relaxing than waking up to the birds chirping, breathing in fresh air while listening to the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, and occasionally spotting monkeys moving from tree to tree....Life can be nothing but beautiful in places like this :-)
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| chilling at the porch...spotting Columbus monkeys |
Photos courtesy of Neeta Bhandari and Mark Rolland
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