Lake Turkana via Chalbi Desert tour|Lake Turkana budget camping expedition Safaris|Budget Camping Safaris Lake Turkana

AASKC013: 8 Days Lake Turkana via Chalbi Desert

Day 1: Samburu
Depart Nairobi in the morning heading north via the shoulder of Africa's second largest mountain, Mt Kenya to the Samburu Game Reserve arriving in time for lunch with game drive enroute. Meals and overnight at a campsite

Day 2: Samburu
Day spent game viewing in the park appreciating the diverse landscape and variety of animal species. Meals and overnight at a campsite

The Park is home to the uncommon Grevy’s zebra with huge fury ears, gerenuk antelope standing on hind legs to feed, Somali ostriches with distinct blue legs and the shy Oryx. Elephant and crocodile are guaranteed sightings, excellent bird watching with numerous varieties of weaverbirds and the martial eagle. Leopard sighting is also a special feature here. Meals and overnight at a campsite

Day 3: Marsabit
We head north to Marsabit, an astonishingly cool, green and hilly oasis rising high above the dry heat of the surrounding desert lands.

Here, an indigenous forest and a desert come together to create the most compelling landscape on earth. Elephants and greater kudu abound. The dense forest in the park is also home to a variety of birds.

Day 4: Kalacha
We depart after an early breakfast through the scenic landscape of the arid north with views of picturesque hills. We arrive and camp at Kalacha, a small Gabbra settlement on the edge of the Chalbi Desert.

The Gabbra men wear traditional shorts and a blanket-cloak and the women wear a wrap-around and head cloth. They are pastoralists, particularly attached to their camels.

Day 5: Lake Turkana
We depart early crossing the Chalbi Desert to Lake Turkana which is the largest desert lake in the world and extends for 288 kilometers up to the Ethiopian / Kenyan border.

Day 6: Lake Turkana
The day is spent relaxing and you may visit the local lodge to swim or hire a boat to visit the surrounding area (at an extra cost). In addition, we may visit Loiyangalani and the community settled there while in the evening visiting one of the Turkana Manyattas [optional] for traditional dances at an extra cost if clients wish. An unforgettable experience under a star studded sky so close you can almost touch it.

The Lake is also known as the “Jade Sea” because of its remarkable blue – green color and is home to the largest population of Nile crocodiles in the world. If the weather permits we take a short sunset boat ride to the surrounding areas.

Day 7: Maralal
We drive via the Horr Valley situated between Mount Nyiro and Ol Doinye Mara viewing the breath taking scenery as we continue to Maralal. Near Maralal is one of the most breath taking scenes in all of Kenya – the Losiolo escarpment, an endless stretch as land drops down to the Suguta valley.

Day 8: Nairobi
Heading south again via Laikipia Plains and Nyahururu we may stop at the Thomson falls named after Joseph Thomson. After lunch we drive back into Nairobi to arrive by mid-afternoon.