Travel Guide Lake Turkana

Lake Turkana is nicknamed the "Sea of Jade" for its green reflections, color... Jade. It stretches on 249 km long, from north to south, along the Great African Rift Valley, and measures 44 km in its maximum width. It is the largest desert lake in the world. The territory that includes the three national parks of the lake, Central Island (500 hectares), South Island (3,900 hectares) and Sibiloi Park (157,085 hectares), is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, since 1997. It is the "saltiest of all the great lakes in East Africa and the largest desert lake in the world, in an arid, seemingly alien landscape that is often lifeless," Unesco describes on its website. " The three national parks serve as stopovers for migratory waterbirds and are important breeding grounds for the Nile crocodile, hippopotamus and various poisonous snakes." But Lake Turkana is also threatened by a hydroelectric dam, Gibe III, the highest dam in Africa, built by Ethiopia, as well as irrigation projects on its main tributary, the Omo River, leading to a general drop in water levels. Repeated severe droughts, as well as oil explorations in the region, are not helping the situation. In fact, in June 2018, Lake Turkana was placed on the World Heritage in Danger list.To the east, the shores of Lake Turkana are accessed through Loiyangalani. To the west, the lake is accessible from two locations. The easiest to reach is the Gulf of Ferguson, located near the small village of Kalokol. Here, the entire population lives from fishing and several fish processing plants have been built with European funding. Unfortunately, the decline in water levels has greatly affected this industry. Today, this region is almost stricken. Further south, the site of Eliye Springs is much more pleasant, it is also much more difficult to access (4x4 required, turn right about 25 km after Lodwar). Springs provide just enough humidity to allow doum palms to grow, these last ones produce fruits which the few Turkanas who live here feed on. A place to discover for those who seek a total change of scenery, especially since there are now some accommodation possibilities.