From stunning lodges and diverse cultural fairs Kenya’s northern circuit is perfect for those looking for ultimate experience in the wild, writes ALLAN OLINGO

Endowed with beautiful scenery, diverse culture, wildlife, topography and a greater opportunity to get to know Kenya’s least known cultures, the northern region is rich with tourism products. The unique five animals only found in the area are the reticulated giraffe, grevy zebra, Somali ostrich, the oryx and the gerenuk, which add to the unique tourism opportunity in this tourist circuit.

These platforms help open up the unexplored northern tourism circuit and at the same time to showcase Kenya’s diverse tourism product offerings such as wildlife, culture, scenery, historic and pre-historic sites found in the region.

Maralal Camel Derby

This is an internationally recognised annual event held in Yare Camel Camp, Maralal. The event started in 1989 known by the name of “Maralal International Camel Derby” and has been taking place every August since then.

“This sporting event is used as a way of creating awareness on the diverse culture and tourism potential in the area. It is also an opportunity to foster peace among the communities within the county of Maralal,” says Kenya Tourist Board managing director Muriithi Ndegwa.

The Maralal Came Derby draws participants both locally and internationally. Foreign tourists have been participating in the annual event.

“We have entered into a partnership with the community’s organising committee in a bid to profile the activity to a higher level,” Ndegwa reveals.

Says Ndegwa: “Besides being a sporting event, it creates an opportunity for the promotion of culture and tourism in the northern part of the country. “

This year’s derby theme is ‘Peace for Tourism and environmental conservation’ and it will to be held between August 23 and 25.

For fun lovers, the Maralal camel derby has a lot of activities including  camel races for both professionals (usually for locals) and amateurs (for the internationals) categories.

Ndegwa says there will also be the peace run featuring morans from various communities.

This is one of the highlights of the event — bringing the morans from the warring communities to race together.  Ultimately, the event will be crowned with the Samburu Cultural Night that offers a unique cultural experience with music, dance, traditional foods, arts and crafts and two real Samburu weddings.

For any visitor who would want to explore northern Kenya, Maralal is a small but rich cultural town where people still live in symbiosis with the wildlife, culture and tradition dating back to 1,000 years.

The area boasts of the Maralal game sanctuary, which is home to a variety of plains wildlife like impala, eland, buffalo, elephants, warthog and zebra that can be seen from the road.

There is also the ‘House of Kenyatta’ where  Kenya’s first president was detained prior to his release.

Turkana Cultural Festival

In May this year, the National Museums of Kenya in collaboration with the German Embassy and other partners, teamed up for the Lake Turkana Festival that was held in Loiyangilani.

Loiyangilani is fast becoming a popular tourist destination in Northern Kenya, as the surrounding El Molo and Turkana villages, amongst others, offer unique cultural experiences.

In June 2008, the National Museums of Kenya officially opened the first and only desert museum in Loiyangalani, which mirrors the cultures and lifestyles of the eight communities that live in this area.

The cultural festival celebrates and unites all the tribes affiliated to Loiyangalani, which live around Lake Turkana.?This year’s event was memorable as it celebrated the cultures of the El Molo, Samburu, Gabra, Rendille, Watta, Dasannach, Pokot and the Turkana.

Rhino Charge

This is another event that has managed to open up northern Kenya. The Rhino Charge is an off-road event in which competitors are required to go through 13 points scattered over approximately 100 square kilometres of rough terrain within a ten-hour period.

Navigation is by compass or GPS and the winner is the competitor who visits the most controls in the shortest distance.

Even though the venue of the Rhino Charge remains a secret that only the organisers know, the charge has been held mostly in northern Kenya since inception. The event involves camping and is now one of the most attended local tourist activities.