Lake Turkana Kenya

Lake Turkana is referred as the cradle of mankind because a fossil site called koobifora was discovered here by Dr. Richard Leakey in 1967. From a distance the lake has a turquoise color of the floating algae and is the largest permanent desert lake in the world. The lake has no out flow hence loss of water is by evaporation. The lake was first named Lake Rudolf in honor of Prince Rudolf of Australia in 1888. This led to the name `Homo Rudolfensis` being given to a hominid discovered here in 1972. The lake was renamed lake Turkana by the Kenyan government in 1975. Other names related to the lake are the Jade sea and Anam kaalakol.

Lake Turkana is 400km south of Nairobi and 75 km from lodwar town by road. Visitors are accommodated in the highly lucrative Lake Turkana lodge though camping facilities are available for adventures around the incredible lake. The Elmolo who are the smallest tribe in Kenya are among the people who inhabit this harsh climate, in the 1980`s their number had reduced to less than 200 people. Sibiloi National Park was established to protect the Koobifora fossil site. Also found in the park are a huge tusked ancestor of the elephant, a million years old giant tortoise shell, a set of crocodile jaws over 5 feet long and a wide range of wild life including the very rare species of the striped hyena.

The Central Island National Park is a unique crocodile breeding ground that offers splendid scenery with its crater lake. The South Island National Park is an excellent place to watch the birds. Lake Turkana is a superb place for photography, camel trekking, sport fishing for the renowned Nile perch, playing in the constantly changing sand dunes, collecting precious stones while walking near the shores and a scene of a lion or cheater devouring a mammal in the dry grassland. All these will linger your mind as you leave the arid lake that has retained its wild character.