Often called “the jewel of East Africa”, Kenya lays the very strongest claim to being the world’s finest holiday destination.
In a single country of nearly 225,000 sq miles – almost three times the size of the UK — you can see snowcapped mountains, dense cloud forests, deserts, flamingo lakes, idyllic Indian Ocean beaches and reefs, acacia-studded savannahs teeming with game, tea and coffee plantations, and the spectacular Great Rift Valley, the giant scar across Africa. As if that was not enough, the country straddles the equator, has a wonderful climate, some of the friendliest people you could ever meet and a sophisticated tourist infrastructure which offers excellent hotels, safari camps and lodges for most budgets.
After a period of short-lived political upheaval following the December 2007 elections, calm has now been restored. Karibu“welcome” in Swahili is a word you will hear once again wherever you go, for tourism, one of the country’s economic mainstays, is back. Travellers will be heartened by the inhabitants’ desire to continue the healing process, and their confidence in Kenya’s political future.
Record numbers of British citizens a total of 204,000 visited Kenya in 2007. What’s more, in a sign that overseas confidence has returned, figures for tourism in the second half of 2008 rose rapidly. In September, 14,000 British tourists arrived up 25 per cent on the previous month and just 27 per cent fewer than September 2007.
However, where to go in this beautiful country? The answer depends on your own interests, but we hope this supplement will fire your imagination with ideas.
