Elementaita is derived from the Maasai word muteita, meaning “dust place”, a reference to the dryness and dustiness of the area, especially between January and March. The town of Gilgil is near the lake. In the south-to-north sequence of Rift Valley lakes, Elementaita is between Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru. The major Nairobi-Nakuru highway (A104 Road) runs along the nearby escarpment affording motorists a spectacular vista towards the lake. Today the lake is a protected area due to its bird life, and has been named as an UNESCO heritage site together with Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria. At the southern end of the lake are the “Kekopey” hot springs, in which an introduced fish, the Lake Magadi tilapia, breed. The reed beds nearby are fishing grounds for night herons and pelicans.

Activities to do:

Nature Walks – This is one of the rarest opportunity to walk designated Ramsar and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Unlike the drives, nature walks captures all the desired attention of natural happenings like identifying tracks and signs of wildlife, birdlife, geology, native plants identification and their traditional medicinal values or uses.

Birdwatching in this Ornithological Haven & Ramsar Site – over 400 bird species have been recorded in the Lake Nakuru/Lake Elmenteita basin. Elmenteita attracts visiting flamingoes, both the greater and lesser varieties.

Day trip to The Kariandusi archaeological site – the site is amongst the first discoveries of Lower Paleolithic sites in East Africa. There is enough geological evidence to show that in the past, large lakes, sometimes reaching levels hundreds of meters higher than the Present Lake Nakuru and Elementaita, occupied this basin.

Day trip to Lake Nakuru National park – Visitors can enjoy the wide ecological diversity and varied habitats that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges. The Park is ideal for bird watching, hiking, picnic and game drives.

Day Excursion to Lake Bogoria and Baringo – This fun-filled trip includes boat riding in Baringo, fishing and nature walks led by professional guides.

Day & Night Game drives at the Soysambu Wildlife Conservancy -Utterly pristine and hauntingly beautiful, Soysambu not only features rolling plains and a substantial part of one of Kenya’s most beautiful soda lakes – with it’s attendant cast of pelicans, commorants, waders and storks but also shelters large herds of buffalo. Within the acacia thickets graze the rare Rothschild’s giraffe, and across the plains bound an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of plain’s game.