| Information
Kenya
Kenya is located on the east coast of Africa.
It has an area of 582,644 sq km of which 45,240 sq km
(8%) is under wildlife conservation sactuaries. The
Equator runs straight through the middle of the country.
Kenya
has two major cities, Nairobi, the capital city and
Mombasa, the Coastal City and the largest port in East
Africa.
Population
Kenya has a colourful
mixture of people. The current population of 30 million
is made up of 42 ethnic groups. The minority, Asians
and Europeans live mainly in urban centres. This ethnic
diversity has produced a harmoniuos mixture of people
with rich cultural heritage. People live harmoniuosily
with wildlife. This has given Kenya a unique identity.
The rich cultural heritage is expressed through song,
dance, art and handcraft.
Language
Kenya’s
official language is English while Swahili is the national
language. Swahili is the lingua franca spoken by the
largest number of people in Africa. Microsoft is in
the process of writing computer programs in Swahili.
French, German, Spanish and Italian are also spoken
in tourism industry.
Climate
Temperature
in Kenya depends on altitude. Coast is hot and humid
with average temperatures of 30oC while that of Nairobi
is 22oC. There are two rainy seasons, March to May,
and October to December. The rest of the year is dry.
July and August are the coldest months with average
temperatures declining to as low as 10oC.
In
the areas most frequented by visitors on safari, the
weather is ideal as it is neither too hot nor too cold.
Time
Local
time is GMT plus three hours (+3 GMT). Due to location
at the Equator, days and nights are equal.
Parks
and Reserves
Total wildlife conservation area
is 8% of Kenya’s total area. Main parks and reserves
are: Aberdare National Park, Masai Mara Game Reserve,
Amboseli National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park, Samburu
Game Reserve and Tsavo National Park. In these game
sanctuaries, there are 80 major animal species and over
1,580 bird species. For more details on parks and reserves,
click here
International
Airports
There are three international airports
in Kenya:
¨ Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi. JKIA is 18
km from the city center,
a
half hour’s drive. The busiest of the three airports
and is served by almost
all
the worlds major airlines.
- Moi International Airport, Mombasa. MIA is the
busiest and the most modern
airport
in the East African coast and offers connection to major
cities in Europe.
¨ Eldoret
International Airport. Eldoret is in western Kenya,
310 km from Nairobi.
It
is the newest airport.
|
