Lake Bogoria in Kenya is one of the lesser celebrated of the Rift Valley lakes but it provides as much beauty and inspiration as any of the other dramatic lakes in the region It is ninety minutes north of Nakuru The waters of this lake reaemble the color of tea.Baringo is dotted with 13 small islands — sometimes referred to by locals as Devil Islands because of the hot springs and fumaroles that still cough up enough steam and boiling water to make them useful as public baths.
Baringo’s largest island is Ol Kokwe (The Meeting Place), an extinct volcano with several especially noticeable hot springs, small bubbling pools, and steam jets along the northeastern shoreline. Some of the springs in the lake’s northern reaches are believed to have curative properties and are used to treat skin diseases.
This lake actually has more than 200 hot springs around it, and is the most famous of all the hot springs regions in Kenya
Such is the importance of Lake Bogoria that it has been declared a Ramsar Site and the Lake Bogoria National Reserve has been a protected area since the early 1970’s. With a depth of about 10 meters the lake is relatively shallow and is approximately 34 km long by 3.5 km wide.
Lake Bogoria is a saline, alkaline lake and lies just south of Lake Baringo. With it’s ideal conditions it is home to one of the world’s largest populations of lesser flamingoes. Due to the lake’s alkalinity, blue green algae grows well, this in turn feeds the flamingoes.
At times the number of flamingoes feeding in the lake may be as many as two million – creating a wonderful undulating blaze of pink as the flamingoes go about their feeding. This scene of brilliant pink flamingoes by the millions is only found in the Rift Valley Lakes of Kenya, and so is not replicated anywhere else in the world, due to the very specific environment needed by the birds.
Lake Baringo tis famous for the existence of a huge species of birds with over 470 species recorded of which the most common bird species are the Flamingo birds, Fish eagles, Pelican, Cormorants and many other water birds. Aside from the birds there are many animals to see at Lake Bogoria such as buffalo, zebra, baboon, warthog, caracal, spotted hyena, impala and dik dik.
You need to experience this for yourself, coral sea expeditions are just one call away to this beautiful destination.
