Ruma National Park, only place in Kenya where you can see Roan antelope

Ruma National Park is not known to many, but it is the only terrestrial park found in Nyanza. It is also the only place in Kenya where you can see the Roan antelope.

The park was gazetted in 1983 and given its name at the request of the Luo community living around it. According to  Luo folklore, the revered wizard Gor Mahia also lived around the park.

Ruma National park is teaming with wildlife and is rich in history. One of the picnic sites, Korlang‘o, is said to be on the escape route used by the Kalenjin community during colonial times, when they were taken to Lambwe Valley to die during the resistance.

Kanyamwa Escarpment, also found within the park, is said to have been frequented by Gor Mahia.

Aside from being home to the Roan antelope, Ruma also hosts a number of other wild animals, including Bohor reedbucks, serval cats, honey badgers, bush pigs, oribi, as well as Jackson and Lelwel hartebeest. In addition, it also hosts black rhinos, leopards, buffalos, hyenas, Rothschild giraffes, topi, baboons and vervet monkeys.

This park is also known among birding enthusiasts for the rare intra-African migrant – the blue swallow bird. Some 400 species of birds are found in the area.

Lambwe Valley, where the park is situated, has been known to host tsetse flies, but thanks to the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Veterinary Department, the park is presently tsetse-fly-free.

There are designated campsites available. The soil in this park is mainly black cotton soil.

Ruma National Park is hot and humid all year round, with the long rains usually between April and June, while the short rains fall between October and December. Since it is near Lake Victoria, expect a few stray mosquitoes.

The park that stretches across 120 square kilometres can be accessed from the Kisumu-Homabay route or via the Kisii-Kisumu road.

Additional reporting from the KWS website.