The third most populated town in Kenya, Nakuru is a popular destination to spend the weekend. Some of the popular attractions include Hyrax Hill Prehistoric -4km outside Nakuru, is a great spot for a peaceful amble away from the rhinos and tourists. It contains a museum and the remains of three settlements excavated between 1937 and the late 1980s, the oldest being possibly 3000 years old, the most recent 200 to 300 years old. You’re free to wander the site, but it’s rather cryptic and a guide is useful – a tip of KSh200 is plenty.
The North-East Village, which is believed to be about 400 years old, sits closest to the museum and once housed 13 enclosures. Only the 1965 excavation of Pit D remains open. It was here that a great number of pottery fragments were found, some of which have been pieced together into complete jars and are displayed in the museum.
From Pit D the trail climbs to the scant remains of the stone-walled hill-fort near the top of Hyrax Hill itself. You can continue to the peak, from where there’s a fine view of Lake Nakuru in the distance. Looking down the other side of the hill, you’ll see two ‘C’-shaped Iron Age stone hut foundations at the base. Just north of the foundations, a series of Iron Age burial pits containing 19 skeletons was found. The majority were male and lots of them had been decapitated, so a number of colorful explanations have been offered.
Another popular attraction is the Menengai Crater, With transport and 15 minutes to play with, you can be out of the grimy streets of Nakuru and standing on the rim of Menengai Crater, a 485m-high natural cauldron and local beauty spot. Outside of weekends, it’s a peaceful place that affords striking views down below onto a cushion of lush vegetation. The crater was formed over one million years ago and the last eruption was about 350 years ago.
Geothermal excavation is now taking place on the crater floor, so it’s hard to tell if those plumes of steam rising from the bottom are indeed the souls – as the story goes – of defeated Maasai warriors, or swirling clouds of dust. On the crater’s western side is the Mau Mau Cave, where guerrillas hid from British colonial forces during the Mau Mau uprising.
For those who love safari Lake Nakuru national park is an ideal to see wildlife like giraffes, buffalos and Lions.
