Rift Valley

The Rift Valley starts some 200 km east of Addis Abeba in Ethiopia and runs south through Kenya and Tanzania.

The Ethiopian part of the Rift Valley is a beautiful lush area that includes several lakes and national parks. There is a bus service between the capital and the seven lakes. More to the south the area becomes drier and finally turns into semi desert near the border with kenya.

In Kenya the Rift Valley covers the area around Lake Turkana, the Cherangani Hills and the lakes of Baringo, Bogoria, Nakuru and Naivasha to the south. The area boasts some of the most interesting places to visit in the country. The northern part around Lake Turkana is semi-desert, while more to the south it becomes more covered with vegetation. In the Cherangani Hills the roads have hair-raising bends and the views are fantastic. South of the hills, the area around the smaller lakes attracts numerous bird species and other animals. There are several interesting towns and national parks in the Kenyan part of the Rift Valley.

In Tanzania the Rift Valley runs from the northeast towards the Indian Ocean in the east. The Tanzanian part of the Rift Valley includes three lakes, Lake Natron, Lake Manyara and Lake Eyasi. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area, as well as the Tarangire National Park partly cover the valley.