See+Travel+Leisure’s Best Places to Travel in Nandi county

Nandi County is Kenya’s athletics hub.

It is home to tens of the world’s celebrated athletes, including world record breakers such as Pamela Jelimo, Janet Jepkosgei and the legendary athlete Kipchoge Keino.

The 2,884 square kilometres ‘home of champions’ borders Baringo to the east, Vihiga and Kakamega to the west, Uasin Gishu to the north, Kisumu to the south and Kericho to the south-east.

The county, which is also renowned for its thriving tea estates, is endowed with a beautiful topography that mainly consist of the scenic Nandi Hills.

Here are 5 places to visit in Nandi county.

1.Ndalat Hill

If you would just like a nice walk and a nice view of the region and do not want to go too far from Eldoret, try Ndalat Hill.

Cross the Sosiani River and drive south, out of Eldoret. After only a few kilometers, turn right (west)  and pass Rivatex Factory. After 25 km you will reach Ndalat shopping centre where your vehicle can be parked.

2.Nandi Hills Tea Plantations

From a distance they appear as a gently undulating sea of green. Closer, one sees the regular rows of bushes that produce the famous black tea that is unrivaled in quality throughout the world.
Most of the tea estates date from the colonial era and were carved out of the vast indigenous forests. Many of the estates have, within their borders, special, even unique, sites that they may make accessible to the general public. Usually permission must be obtained and a small fee paid.

3.The Nandi Escarpment

For those adventurous at heart, there are many places to descend and ascend the escarpment. One of the most challenging and interesting is to climb from the sugar plantations near Miwani to the top of the Nandi Rock. It will be an unforgettable experience —- clambering over rocks and squeezing through crevices you may doubt you can pass.

4.Bonjoge National Reserve

Bonjoge National park is at the southern part of Nandi county in Aldai constituency. Having its roots from way back in 1970s, the park initially was a human settlement till 1983 when the retired president Daniel Moi advised the people to relocate to Bonjoge area to give room for the park to develop hence curbing the issue of encroachment.
The park since then has been under the management of Kenya Wildlife Service(KWS), Kenya Forest Service(KFS),County Council of Nandi and the entire Bonjoge community under an MoU that was reached.
In 1994, the park was converted into a Forest reserve by the Kenya Forest Service(KFS) through a gazzette notice No. 371. The move by KFS according to the Chief Warden Joel Kanda was wrong as it was done without consultation.

 

5.Kingwal swamp

The famous Kingwal swamp which is the habitat of the rare species of antelopes called sitatunga,

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