Kisumu City!!! Land of the intelligent and home to the lake filled with Fish. The one advice that you may be given if you show an interest in visiting the lakeside city, is to not leave before you’ve had a taste of tilapia drawn, quartered and fried right before you accompanied with a side of ugali, Kachumbari and your choice of green vegetables. But I digress, let us leave the talk of food for a moment and explore the many other facets that the city has to offer.
Formerly known as Port Florence, Kisumu city is a Kenyan port city that is found on the Lake Victoria. It has an elevation of 3,711 feet above sea level and a population of 397,957 individuals as per the 2019 census. Located 320km northwest of Nairobi and 24km south of the equator. Because of it elevation it possesses moderate temperatures. It is the third largest city in Kenya after Mombasa and serves as the principal city within the Western area of Kenya. It is considered as a key city and has been dubbed the title of ‘Millennium City’ by the United Nations due to its integral functionality within the Lake Victoria Basin after Kampala. This has placed it in a precarious position in terms of business investments and general development of the town.
Kisumu city is located a four hours drive from Maasai Mara which is one of Kenya’s most prominent tourist destinations. This notwithstanding Kisumu has its own jaw dropping offerings that would keep any visitor constantly on their feet in search of their next adventure. Although the city has been modernized over the years it still holds on to its cultural integrity. The first thing that catches your eye once you are in the city is the Town Clock located on the main street of Kisumu city along Oginga Odinga road. The clock was set up in memory of Kassim Lakha and erected by his sons Rahimtulla Kassim and Alibhai Hassan and this information is inscribed on the side of the clock.
Kisumu Museum is the second item of the list. With its beautiful pavilions that are elaborately laid out to depict a traditional Luo homestead. The pavilions are home to different fauna such as a wide variety of fish found within Lake Victoria, a terrarium containing puff adders, mambas, spitting cobras and other venomous snakes that are mainly found in Kenya. The other pavilions are synonymous with farm tools, jewellery; weaponry made by the people of Nyanza province and gives a proper depiction of the cultures that are found there. One very important pavilion contains the traditional rock art known as the prehistoric TARA rock art that would be enough to blow any one person away. The largest and most integral exhibition within the museum is the UNESCO sponsored Ber gi Dala which is a full scale depiction of a traditional Luo homestead consisting of homes, granaries and livestock corrals of the imaginary traditional Luo man as well as the homes of all his three wives and his eldest son. The exhibit also incorporates a historical explanation about the migration of the luo people up to the time that they settled within Nyanza province.
A visit to the Dunga Beach shall expose you to the eco-cultural attractions that exist as a result of the biodiversity and culturally wealthy ecosystem and the warmth of the local community as a whole. The Kisumu Impala Sanctuary shall also give one a chance to view these impressive animals within an enclosed area. It is considered as one of Kenya’s smallest wildlife preserves with the potential of a mid-level sanctuary. The animals found here include impalas, a couple of hippos, some reptiles and over 115 species of birds. Several Baboons and leopards that have been through certain hardships in the wild are also found here. So in case you fail to see a leopard in the Mara you can definitely find them in Kisumu!!! Hippo point is an area on Lake Victoria that gives one an unobstructed view of the sunsets that occur over the Lake Victoria. Kit Mikayi and Ndere Island are also touristic sites that create a sense of unity with the culture that the Luo people who mostly inhabit the area possess.
Take a chance on Kisumu and you shall not be disappointed!!!!