Areas | Southern Africa | Kenya

Kenya is a popular tourist destination lying across the equator in east-central Africa, on the coast of the Indian Ocean.  It is twice the size of Nevada covering an area of 586,350 km².  Kenya borders Somalia to the east, Ethiopia to the north, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest. The Equator runs through the middle of the country, close to Africa’s second-highest point, Mount Kenya.

In the north, the land is arid; the southwest corner is in the fertile Lake Victoria Basin; and a length of the eastern depression of the Great Rift Valley separates western highlands from those that rise from the lowland coastal strip.

In this section:

• Location
• History
• Economic Activity
• Main Attraction Features
• Climate
• Time Zone
• The Environment
• Kenya’s Property and Real Estate Market
• Tourism Industry
• Fact Box

The geographical coordinates of the country are Latitude 4° north to 4° south and Longitude 34° east to 41° east.  North to south longest distance: 1,025 kms

Flying Time to Nairobi:

• From Europe: 8 - 10 hours
• South Africa: 4 hours
• From N. America: 16 - 20 hours
• From The Gulf: 4 hours
• From Far East, Australia: 16 hours

Paleontologists believe people may first have inhabited Kenya about 2 million years ago. In the 700s, Arab seafarers established settlements along the coast and the Portuguese took control of the area in the early 1500s. More than 40 ethnic groups reside in Kenya. Its largest group, the Kikuyu, migrated to the region at the beginning of the 18th century.

The land became a British protectorate in 1890 and a Crown colony in 1920, called British East Africa. Nationalist stirrings began in the 1940s, and in 1952 the Mau Mau movement, made up of Kikuyu militants, rebelled against the government. The fighting lasted until 1956. The country thereafter got independence in 1963 under the presidency of the late His Excellency Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, can trace its humble beginnings as a trading stop during the construction of the railway line in 1899.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. Kenya is in the process of establishing a firm industrial base, with import substitution and processing industries already firmly in place. The country aims to attain newly industrialised nation status by 2030. Major cash crops are tea, coffee, pyrethrum, wheat and corn. Livestock farming is also practiced.

Tourism is currently the second-largest contributor to the economy, after agriculture.

Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, has grown through the years to become East and Central Africa’s business and financial hub. At an elevation of 1,795 meters above sea-level, it has become East Africa’s most populous city and Africa’s 12th largest city in terms of administrative area. Nairobi is home to an estimated three million people; a truly cosmopolitan city serving as the regional headquarters for some of the world’s largest corporations such as General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Young & Rubicam, Google, Cisco Systems, UNEP, UN-Habitat, Citi Bank, Coca Cola and a wealth of other institutions.

Kenyan land stretches from the sea level (Indian Ocean) in the east, to 5,199 meters at the peak of the snow-capped Mount Kenya. An inland region of semi-arid, bush-covered plains constitutes most of the country’s land area. In the northwest, high-lying scrublands straddle Lake Turkana (Lake Rudolf) and the Kulal Mountains. In the southwest lie the fertile grasslands and forests of the Kenya Highlands, one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. From the coast, the altitude changes gradually through the coastal belt and plains (below 152 metres above sea level), the dry intermediate low belt to what is known as the Kenya Highlands (over 900 metres above sea level).

The dramatic landscape is dominated by the Great Rift Valley, which slashes through the country from north to south. The mostly flat valley varies in width from 15 to 90 kilometres, and in some places is more than 600 metres deep. The Rift Valley is the location of the country’s highest mountains, including, in the eastern section, the snow-capped Mt. Kenya (5,199 meters), the country’s highest point and Africa’s second highest. In the south, mountain plains descend westward to the shores of Lake Victoria.

There are a number of lakes along the Great Rift Valley; the largest is Lake Turkana in the north.
West of the Great Rift, on an upland plateau, is the eastern edge of Lake Victoria (the world’s second-largest freshwater lake). East of the Great Rift are the central highlands, which slope down to grassy plains before finally meeting the ocean with its white sandy beaches.

Kenya geography is varied and truly diverse as is reflected through its mountains, plains, coastal areas, plateaus, forests, rivers as well as lakes. Wildlife are masters of the greater part of the low belt.

The Great Rift Valley
Located in the western and central part of the country, it is one of the most striking features of the geography of Kenya. The valley divides the Kenyan highlands into east and west. Mount Kenya is on the eastern side. The Highlands are cool and agriculturally rich. There are a good number of swamps in the Loraine Plain, sited in the north-eastern part of Kenya.

Picturesque Mountains and Ranges
The country stretches from the snow-capped mountains in the north to the sea in the east. The terrain gradually changes from the low-lying coastal plains to the Kenyan highlands. Mount Kenya is the highest point of the country and Africa’s second. Mount Elgon, Mount Kilimanjaro and Aberdares are the other mountain ranges in Kenya.

Lakes & Rivers
Several big and small lakes and rivers form part of the geography of Kenya. Lake Turkana is found in the northern part of the country.  Lake Victoria with a basin largely dominated by the Kano Plains lies to its west. Other important lakes include Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru.  Kenya’s principal rivers are the 710-kilometer-long Tana, and the Athi, both flowing southeast to the Indian Ocean. Other rivers include the Ewaso Ngiro, flowing northeast to the swamps of the Lorian Plain, and the Nzoia, Yala, and Gori, which flow across the country before draining into Lake Victoria.

Forests
The vegetation varies from the dense tropical forests, the mangrove forests along the coast, to the shrubbery of the arid desert lands covered by thorny bushes and savanna, to the thick mountainous forests and alpine vegetation along the slopes of the snow-capped Mount Kenya. Kenya's landscape is most fascinating and diverse. The geography of Kenya also includes its rainforests found in the eastern part. Kakamega Forest and the Mau Forest are two of the main forests of the country.

Wildlife
Kenya’s most valuable natural assets are rich agricultural land and a unique physiographic and wildlife. The highly diverse and rich wildlife game reserves and game parks is a key draw for the tourism industry. Kenya has the big five and prides in the eighth wonder of the world – the wildebeest migration from the Mara to to Serengeti in Tanzania usually between June and August when the wildebeest congregate and prepare to cross the famous Grumeti River.
The famous attractions include Amboseli Game Reserve, Tsavo National Parks, Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Mount Kenya National Park, Nakuru National Park, Tsavo national Park, Nairobi National Park and  Aberdare National Park. Another well sought after tourist attraction is Laikipia which benefits from large ranches, conservancies and high class hospitality establishments most famous being Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

Climate

Kenya's climate varies from tropical along the coast to arid in the interior, especially in the north and northeast. Intermittent droughts affect most of the country. Less than 15 percent of the country receives somewhat reliable rainfall of 760 millimeters or more per year, mainly the southwestern highlands near Lake Victoria and the coastal area, which is tempered by monsoon winds. Most of the country experiences two wet and two dry seasons. The driest month is August, with 24 millimeters average rainfall, and the wettest is April, the period of "long rains," with 266 millimeters. The hottest month is February, with temperatures of 13°C to 28°C, and the coolest is July, with temperatures of 11°C to 23°C. The highlands feature a bracing temperate climate. Nairobi, at an elevation of 1,820 meters, has a very pleasant climate throughout the year.

Time Zone

Kenya lies in one time zone, which is three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time Standard Time (GMT + 3). Kenya does not operate daylight saving time.

The Environment

The Central Highlands have fertile volcanic soils which, combined with a good rainfall and cool temperatures, are very productive for food crops. Lake Turkana supports a rich fish life as well as a large population of Nile crocodiles, but little grows on the dry land that surrounds it. A great forest once grew inland from Kenya's coast, but only a few patches now remain, and most of the area has become grassland. Much of northern Kenya is near-desert, with sandy soils where little grows

Kenya's Property and Real Estate Market

In addition to being the business hub of East Africa, Kenya is blessed with natural beauty, incredible scenery and abundance of rare and amazing wildlife. Kenya's property and tourism sector continued to flourish and the country even attracted property and real estate investment into the game reserves in the form of commercial lodges for tourism and also along the Indian Ocean coastal region in the form of second home and retirement home developments as well as some holiday resorts and commercial ventures as well.

There are three most popular areas when it comes to investment in Kenya's real estate; including Nairobi and its environs popularly known as the Nairobi Metropolis, the beautiful coastal area with 500 km's of white sand beaches along the Indian Ocean coast from Lamu to Diani and beyond and the game reserves for commercial lodges and resorts, but the range of micro-market sectors being targeted by the property investors has diversified. With all these incredible destinations, it's no surprise that houses for sale in Kenya have seen a significant increase in interest over the past five years.

Tourism Industry

The tourism industry in Kenya is the third largest contributor to the country's GDP after agriculture and horticulture. It is also one of the key sectors identified as a growth driver to achieve the country's Vision 2030 objectives of transforming Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens by the year 2030.

International visitor arrivals to Kenya enjoyed a compounded annual growth rate of 6.7% in the period 2004 to 2007 before being severely impacted by post-election violence in 2008. The government's strategy to market the country as a safe tourist and investment destination has been crucial in reviving the tourism sector.

The recovery of the sector that started during the last quarter of 2008 continued through 2010. This outcome was reflected in the number of inbound tourists that appreciably improved by 34% over the last two years to reach 1.61 million visitors. This robust growth was attributed to promotion in new markets such as Asia, repositioning the country as a high value destination through the Brand Kenya initiative, political stability, improved security and infrastructure.

There are two high and two low tourist seasons each year. The high seasons are from July to September and December to February, with the low seasons from March to June and October to November. During the low seasons, the country continues to receive some international visitors, buffered by a sizeable number of domestic tourists.