SLEEPING WARRIOR AND LAKE ELEMENTAITA

SLEEPING WARRIOR

The name Sleeping Warrior is resemblance of a man lying on his back hence the name. Some locals believe that it is the bust of the late, great Maasai warrior, Oloibon. The trail begins at the Lake Elementaita Park gate, with an initial 8 km trek on a dusty path along the shores of Lake Elmentaita. The hills and the lake are surrounded by beautiful marshland vegetation. A walk around the shore suddenly brings to view the amazing hill to your eyes. The climb takes us through Sleeping Warrior – a sharp ascent to the nose (the peak) which provides a beautiful view of the lake and the caldera before descending towards the Eastern side to attempt the second.

The hike takes a duration of 5-7hrs with an elevation gain of 696 m and distance of 12km. On top of this mountain as you do your hiking, you can be able to spot some wildlife ie buffallos, common zebras, gazelles. You can also spot different species of birds and the beautiful view of Lake Elementaita colored in pink due to flamingoes.

LAKE ELEMENTAITA

Lake Elementaita is an important natural habitat for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including globally and regionally threatened species of outstanding universal value. It consistently holds internationally important populations of Greater and Lesser Flamingo, Great White Pelican, African Spoonbill, Pied Avocet as well as other water bird species that occur in smaller populations.

The terrestrial habitats support the conservation of herbivores such as the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe as well as Elands, Buffaloes, Common Zebras, Impalas, Reedbuck, bushbuck and Colobus monkeys.

• Birding; Lake Elementaita supports one of the major breeding colonies of the Great White Pelicans in the world and is the only place in Kenya where Pelicans breed. Up to 8,000 pairs of Great White Pelican have bred there when the water levels are high and the rocky outcrops in the eastern sector are flooded to form islets on which the birds can safely nest.
• Hot springs: The park has permanent hot water springs which serves as an recreational activity to the visitors, as well Hiking & Walking -on several hills within the sanctuary and shoreline walks along the lake.