Kakamega Forest is world famous for the diversity of bird and insect life, and its uniqueness makes its conservation a top priority. Kakamega rain Forest is Kenya's only remaining patch of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest, a rainforest that once spanned west and central Africa with its easternmost edge in western Kenya. In Kenya and west Africa today, this rainforest exists as relatively small islands of habitat surrounded by savannah and human settlement. Like many of these forest islands, Kakamega forest has been shrinking rapidly as human population growth and resource extraction have increased tremendously in the last century. Although Kakamega Forest is somewhat protected as a government reserve, the Luhya people who live in areas surrounding the forest still rely heavily on the forest for basic needs such as fuel wood, charcoal, timber, poles, and other building materials. Currently, this region is the most dense rural population in the world. The pressures on the limited resources of Kakamega Forest will only increase, and so efforts to manage the forest's resources sustain ably will be crucial to the survival of this vulnerable ecosystem.
 

Kakamega Forest covers an area of about 240km2 and was established to protect the only mid altitude tropical rainforest in Kenya, a remnant and eastern limit of rainforests of Zaire and West Africa affinities are unique in Kenya and the forest contains many species found nowhere else in the country.

The forest lies in the Lake Victoria catchments, about 50km north of Kisumu town and just West of the Nandi Escarpment that forms the edge of the central highlands. It was first gazetted as a trust forest in 1933 and two small Nature reserves, Yala and lsecheno were established within the forest in 1967 In 1985, nearly 4400ha of the northern portion of the forest together with the adjacent Kisere Forest were gazetted as Kakamega Forest National Reserve. The forest is an important water catchment area with the lsiukhu and Yala Rivers flowing through it. The terrain is undulating with often steep sided river valleys.

Accommodation options at Kakamega forest include;

Rondo retreat centre

Udo Bandas

*See other relevant general information on your Kenya tour.

Nairobi hotels

Mombasa Kenya

Safaris in Kenya.

List of budget camping safaris in Kenya

Africa safaris.

Accommodation in Kenya

The masai mara

Other Kenya safaris

Diani beach Kenya

Lamu island Kenya

Malindi beach Kenya

Watamu beach Kenya

Mount Kenya climbing

Kenya car hire