About Kenya

Kenya is the heart of African safari country, housing the most diverse collection of wild animals on the continent. Kenya has some of the world’s most spectacular wildlife parks, beaches, coral reefs, mountain scapes and ancient Swahili cities. However, it is the game parks, which attract people to Kenya. The main parks in Kenya are Masai Mara National Reserve,Samburu, Amboseli, Tsavo, Nairobi, Lamu, Marsabit National Park & Reserve and Mombasa.

Masai Mara National Reserve is the most popular game park in Kenya. It is a massive 320-sq-km reserve, which is filled with wildlife. Here you will spot lions, elephants, buffalos, zebras and hippos. You may also catch the lions hunting. As it is a reserve rather than a national park the Maasai people are allowed to graze and hunt animals here.

Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and is a great place to get a taste of urban African life. The main places to visit here is River Rd, the National Museum, the Snake Museum, the National Archives and the Nairobi National Park.

Lamu is situated on Kenya's upper East Coast. Lamu is a relaxed medieval style area. While here you should visit the Lamu Museum, the Swahili House Museum and the Donkey Sanctuary. You should also experience the trip by dhow.

Marsabit National Park & Reserve has one of Kenya’s most scenic and tranquil camp sites. It is almost essential to camp here to see all of what the park has to offer because of the abundance of thick forest. The larger mammals reside in this park including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, buffalos, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, hyenas and gazelles.

Mombasa is the largest port on the coast of East Africa. It is packed with spectacular wooden shopfronts and balconies, which will amaze you. The most popular attraction is Fort Jesus, which dominates the harbour entrance. A string of beautiful beaches line the coast just south of the town.

Culture

English and Swahili are the main languages spoken throughout the country, however, there are many other tribal languages. Another language you might come across is Sheng, spoken by the younger members of society. Sheng is a mixture of Swahili and English along with a few other languages.

Most Kenyans are Christians, however, most of those on the coast and in the eastern part of the country are Muslim. Muslims make up some 30% of the population. In the more remote tribal areas you'll find a mixture of Muslims, Christians and those who follow their ancestral tribal beliefs.

Kenyans love to party, and the music style is known as benga. It originated among the Luo people of western Kenya and became popular in the area in the 1950s.

Kenyan cuisine generally consists of stodge filler with beans or a meat sauce. Kenyans love beer almost as much as their dancing and there's a huge local brewing industry.

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Full banking services are available in major towns, and you can exchang traveller's checks quite easily. In remote towns and villages where there are no established banks, travelling banks are available weekly or monthly. These rural banking services might change traveller's checks but are not likely to change cash. Most major credit cards are accepted at tourist hotels and restaurants in the larger cities and towns.

Transport

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