 IBILOI
IS APPROXIMATELY 900 KM NORTH OF NAIROBI,
an easy two and a half hour flight in a light
aircraft. The Park lies on the eastern shores of
Lake Turkana and its northern boundary is only some
40 kilometers from the Kenya/Ethiopia border. The
Park covers an area of 1570 km2 and contains some of
the world’s most important palaeontological and
archaeological sites. Although it is one of the more
remote and therefore less visited of Kenya’s parks,
Sibiloi has plenty to offer alongside its rich
palaeontological and archaeological heritage (see
the
Prehistory section).
Sibiloi was declared a
National Park by the government of Kenya in 1973. The
reasoning behind this action was two fold: firstly the
action was taken to ensure the protection of the
wealth of important fossil sites in the area and
secondly, to ensure the preservation of the wildlife
and natural habitat. The area includes an important
offshore zone, protected for the conservation of
crocodiles, bird life and fish breeding grounds. This
inclusion of an offshore zone as well as the
combination of interests (wildlife and palaeontological) makes Sibiloi National Park unique
in Eastern Africa and is the reason for its status as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The National Park is
administered under the
Kenya
Wildlife Service. [
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LANDSCAPE
The landscape of Sibiloi is dry, arid and hot but
startlingly beautiful and well worth a visit. It
offers panoramic views of scenic landscapes set in
expansive areas of wilderness. The park contains
several different types of habitats, from lake shore
with water vegetation, hippos, and crocodiles to
arid, desert-like lava rock terrain; savanna plains
to riverine forest. For naturalists,
Sibiloi National Park is a refuge to a number of dry
country wildlife species including gerenuk, oryx,
the rare lesser kudu and Grevy's zebra.
Furthermore, an abundance of tiang (a subspecies of topi), and the more
common Burchell’s zebra can be seen grazing along
the shoreline. Carnivores include both the striped
and spotted hyena, the side-striped and golden
jackal, cheetah, lion and other small cats including
caracal. Sibiloi is also a birders paradise with
wonderful water birds along the shoreline including
pelicans, numerous species of Heron, ducks,
flamingos, gulls and the African Skimmer. There is
also an incredible diversity of birds of prey and
other bird species including those endemic to the area
such as the Heuglin’s Bustard and the Crested Lark.
For a more complete listing of the plants and
animals populating Sibiloi, se the
Fauna and Flora section.
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LAKE TURKANA
Previously Lake Rudolf after an Austrian prince, the
lake was renamed Lake Turkana in 1975
post-independence after the Turkana people who inhabit
its western shores. However local people living around
the lake use a variety of local names for it.
Sometimes referred to as the "Jade Sea" because of
its striking green hues, it is the largest alkaline
lake in the world. The lake is 265 kilometers long,
has an average breadth of 30 kilometers and is not
particularly deep, with a maximum depth of just less
than 140 meters. According to geological records of
the last several million years, the lake existed for
approximately one hundred thousand-year periods,
separated by intervals where the ancestral Omo River
meandered its way through the basin. There have
been three Lake phases in the past four million
years.
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CENTRAL ISLAND NATIONAL PARK
Central Island is an extinct volcano that rises out
of the middle of Lake Turkana. It is a scenic and dramatic island,
some 5 km2 in size. A footpath skirts the
perimeters of the three crater lakes and follows the
shoreline in places. The path also leads up the
northeastern flank of the volcano, past active
sulfur and steam vents. Although there is no risk of
the volcano erupting today, the smells of sulfur
provides impressive indication of the volcanic
activity below.
The island is an important breeding ground for
migratory and other bird species. The crater on the
northern part of the island is appropriately named
flamingo crater after the colourful pink flamingos
that are often found feeding on the abundant green
algae in its waters. Herons, egrets and storks use
the steep cliffs of this crater as their nesting
sites. The island still provides refuge to breeding
crocodiles, although the crocodile population has
declined on the island in recent years due to the
increased presence of fishermen. One of the three
crater lakes is home to an endemic subspecies of
cichlid (tilapia) fish. [
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For a summary of park fees and other expenses, as
well as available tourist facilities, please refer
to our Visitor Info
section.
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