Waterfall excites locals, pours hope for windfall from tourism

Local Tourists at the Dundori Forest waterfall in Nakuru county. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

A 60-foot high waterfall deep in Nakuru’s Dundori Forest has become the new attraction bringing in hundreds of local and foreign tourists.

Residents and the county government are already planning how to make the most of the waterfall which lies 20 kilometres from Nakuru town.

Already, adventurous groups have built a road to the forest which they feared visiting.

“It is exciting that we have a waterfall within our area yet most residents had never seen one. It has now become an attraction for locals and visitors,” Peter Macharia, the area Ward Rep said.

According to a resident Daniel Wachira, Cedar River has been swelling, and it formed two tributaries, one of which feeds the waterfall.

The river draws its name from the forest’s cedar trees.

“This is a rich resource whose great potential for the tourism sector has never been tapped.

“This underscores the potential our tourism sector has,” said Raymond Komen, the County Executive Committee Member for Trade and Tourism.

Natural resource

“The falls have not been known because of the location. One has to cover five kilometres into the forest, then branch to a hiking trail to see this spectacular landmark,” Komen said.

The residents are optimistic that once the waterfall is gazetted, it will create income-generating streams for them and the county government.

“We hope that this new site will create jobs for us and a market for our farm produce,” Alice Wangui said.

She added that exploitation of the site will help in curbing rampant theft of animals, noting that criminals have been hiding stolen livestock in the forest.

The county government, in collaboration with Nakuru Tourism Association, have been working on ways to revive the tourism sector that has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the Nakuru Tourism and Marketing Act 2019 which provides for the formation of a board to market the county as a tourism destination, the county government has embarked on mapping unexploited touristic sites.