Explore Caves In Kenya : Famous Caves Found In Kenya : Discovering Kenya’s caverns is a captivating experience for visitors from abroad as well as locals. There is nothing like the strong sensation of being in narrow, dark caverns with erratic bat movements—a feeling that is exclusive to Kenyan caves. Focus East Africa Tours provides the ideal vacation packages for exploring Kenya’s cave system.
BELOW ARE THE EIGHT FAMOUS CAVES WORTH EXPLORING IN KENYA
- The Fikirini Sister Caves in Tswaka Village
In the coastal region of Kenya, Tswaka village holds great significance in the history of the Digo people. Three sister caves in the town are well-known for their significant involvement in the historical slave trade.
The locals used these caverns as watering holes, dining locations, temples, and hiding places. The Kenana-Shimoni intersection in the village is 15 kilometers away from them. The caves also include a variety of cultural relics that provide insight into the Digo culture.
Out of the three caves, Mdenyenye cave is the biggest. For the natives who escaped from slave dealers, it was a well-known hiding place. A wooden staircase that connects the cave’s many locations is located inside.
A vital water source, the Kisimani cave features a year-round freshwater well that draws animals in for water. In this incredible cave, it’s easy to spot baboons, monkeys, and bats.
The Kisimani cave is home to roughly seven different species of bats, including the Egyptian fruit bat, tomb bats, long-fingered bats, common batwings, and angle-faced bats. One such shrine was the Pangani Cave. With multiple chambers, it served as a place to dine and relax.
There is a six-kilometer tunnel that leads to Shimoni from this cave. The tunnel played a crucial role in the slave traders’ escape. A group rooted in the community, the Digo people of Fikirini, oversees tourism to the three sister caves in Kenya.
- Kitum Caves in Kenya Kitale
Trans-Nzoia County is home to Mount Elgon National Park, a sizable free-range animal refuge. Elephants, buffaloes, dik-dik, hyenas, bushbucks, monkeys, and birds are among the abundant fauna in the park.
Animals visit the Kitum Cave, a sizable cave in the national park, to lick salt. In addition, the 200-meter-long cave containing a lot of sodium is made of volcanic rocks.
Elephants mostly use the evenings to break apart and eat the salt-rich pebbles on the walls to augment their meals. There’s an overpowering smell of bat poop within the cave.
A great deal of newborn elephant mortality also occurs in deep crevasses. It is recommended that you bring a flashlight if you plan to visit so that you can see around the cave more easily. The Kitum cave holds great significance as it was instrumental in the identification of the Marburg virus, which was discovered in 1980 after a French visitor contracted the infection while visiting the cave.
Charles Monet, a Danish boy, became infected with the virus in 1987 and then infected Shem Musoke, a physician. The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases provided funding for extensive research and documentation of the two virus strains.
In 1994, Richard Preston wrote a book. It describes how the cave changed in connection to the Marburg virus. It is suggested that the Marburg virus disease may have been brought on by inhaling powdered fruit bat guano.
- Chyulu Caves in Kenya Taita Taveta
At the edge of the Nyiri Desert, near Chyulu Hills National Park, lies the longest and deepest lava tube in Africa. This tube contains the following:
- The Leviathan Cave
- Grotte de Leviathan Cave and
- Kisula Cave
The longest caverns in Kenya are the Chyulu caves. Currently ranked 11th in the world among long lava tubes, it was discovered in 1975. There are two primary divisions in the cave. The Upper Leviathan spans 9152 meters and descends 408 meters.
The Lower Leviathan spans 2071 meters and is 70 meters deep. The cave is made out of an 11.5-kilometer-long lava tube. The seismic and volcanic motions indicate that the area is still a prospective volcanic location. Bats can be spotted in the cave’s deeper sections, and visitors can admire the variety of colors on the cave’s walls and roof features.
- Mau-Mau Caves in Kenya Central
The Mau Mau cave, situated in Mount Kenya National Park, 199 kilometers northeast of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is a historically significant site in Nanyuki. During their conflict with the British colonial administration, the Mau Mau freedom fighters utilized it as a hideaway after discovering it in 1953.
Following the declaration of a state of emergency, the war known as the Mau Mau revolt started in 1952 and ended in 1960. Two hundred Mau Mau independence fighters perished in the terrible battle that broke out when British soldiers bombed the cave.
- Njoro River Caves in the Kenya Rift Valley
The Leakey family started conducting excavations at the Njoro River Cave, which is located in the Mau escarpment, in 1938. The cave is an important excavation site that produced a large number of prehistoric objects, including tools, ceramics, and beads. It was discovered by Mary and Louis Leakey that some pastoralists utilized the cave as a place of cremation. The cave served as Eastern Africa’s first radiocarbon dating location in 1950.
- Paradise-Lost Caves in Kenya Nairobi
Joseph Mbai found the Paradise Lost Caves System in Misarara, Kiambu County, in 1996. Because it contains obsidian items from an ancient culture, the cave is a historical tourist destination.
- Suswa Caves in the Kenya Rift Valley
Driving from Nairobi to the Suswa Caves, which are located at Mount Suswa in Narok County, will take 120 kilometers. In addition, visitors can enjoy seeing a family of bats and the renowned “Baboon Parliament” in these exquisitely adorned caves featuring Maasai art.
- Oloolua Caves in Kenya
The Oloolua Forest Reserve is home to the Oloolua caverns. The Institute of Primate Research uses the reserve as a center. Additionally, a 5-kilometer nature route leads to the caves. The Mau Mau liberation warriors used the caves as a hideaway during their battle against the British colonial administration because they felt safe and secure in the darkness.
