Kisumu - The millenium city
Kisumu is situated on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest and the world’s second largest freshwater lake (after Lake Superior in the United States), on what is called the Winam Gulf. The city has one of the most breathtaking sunsets. It is the principal lake port of Kenya, its third largest city, and the commercial center of a farm region. Manufactures include refined sugar, frozen fish, textiles, beer, and processed sisal. An ethanol plant was built in the 1980s. The city is developing a tourism industry with the attractions of Lake Victoria and nearby wildlife. The railroad from Mombasa reached Kisumu in 1901. The city was formerly called Port Florence. Kisumu is popular for freshwater fish (tilapia) and famous for its benga music.
The town of Kisumu has a population of around 100,000 people. A further 150,000 live in the surrounding district. Lying on the equator, Kisumu’s climate is hot all year (83°F). There are rainy seasons between March and June and in November. Kisumu has a full range of educational, industrial, agricultural, medical and social facilities. It is multi-ethnic with the Luo tribe predominating. Although Luo is the local language, Swahili is spoken throughout Kenya, and English is also widely understood. Other main cities in the region are Kisii, Kericho, Eldoret, Kitale, Busia, Kakamega and others.
HISTORY
Kisumu is one of the older of the upcountry municipalities. It the historic western terminus of the railroad from the Indian Ocean to Lake Victoria. The railroad line was completed in 1901, and the first train steamed into Port Florence station in 1903. Several years before that it became Kenya's first port on Lake Victoria, when a steamship was hauled to the lake and assembled in 1895. By the 1930s and 1940s, Kisumu had become a leading East African centre for investment, administration and the military.
Kisumu's rise in growth and prosperity stalled temporarily beginning in 1977, with the collapse of the East African Community, but has recently been returning with the reformation of the community in 1996 and with its designation as a "city." The port has been stimulated by the rejuvenation of international business and trade, as well as by the shipments of goods destined for Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).
PLACES OF INTEREST
Attractions in the city include Kibuye Market, the Kisumu Museum, an impala sanctuary, a bird sanctuary, Hippo Point, and the nearby Ndere Island National Park. Kit Mikaye—an impressive free tourist site—is a large rock with three rocks on top and is located off Kisumu Busia Road towards Bondo. It is a weeping rock: It is believed that Mikaye ("first wife") went up the hill to the stones when her husband took a second wife and has been weeping ever since!
Kisumu Museum, established in 1980, has a series of outdoor pavilions. Some of the pavilions house animals. One pavilion contains numerous aquaria with a wide variety of fish from Lake Malawi. Another pavilion has an enclosure with mambas, spitting cobras, puff adders, and other venomous snakes. The museum has additional exhibits outdoors, including a snake pit and a crocodile enclosure. Other pavilions show weaponry, jewelry, farm tools, and other artifacts made by the various peoples of the Nyanza Province. One pavilion houses the prehistoric TARA rock art, which was removed for its own protection to the museum after it was defaced by graffiti in its original location.
The museum's most important and largest exhibition is the UNESCO-sponsored Ber-gi-dala. This is a full-scale recreation of a traditional Luo homestead. Ber-gi-dala consists of the home, granaries, and livestock corrals of an imaginary Luo man as well as the homes of each of his three wives and his eldest son. Through signs and taped programs in both Luo and English, the exhibition also explains the origins of the Luo people, their migration to western Kenya, traditional healing plants, and the process of establishing a new home.
See http://www.museums.or.ke/regkis.html
The Kisumu Bird Sanctuary covers a large area of swampland and is a breeding ground for herons, storks, cormorants, and egrets. The best time to visit is April or May.
The Kisumu Impala Sanctuary is 0.4 square miles in size and is one of Kenya's smallest wildlife preserves. As its name suggests, it is home to herds of impala. Hippos, as well as many reptiles and birds, are also present. Several baboons and leopards, which faced difficulties of some sort in the wild, are held in cages here.
Hippo Point is a 600-acre viewing area on Lake Victoria. Despite its name, it is better known as a viewing point for its unobstructed sunsets over the lake than for its occasional hippos. The point is near the village of Dunga, a few kilometres southwest of the town. The village also has a fishing port and a camping site.
Ndere Island National Park is a forested, beautiful housing of a variety of bird species, hippos, impala, and crocodiles. Chartered passenger boats can be taken to get there—keep an eye out for hippos on your way!
TRANSPORTATION
Air
Kisumu is served by an airport, with regular daily flights to Nairobi and elsewhere. There are plans to expand the airport in anticipation of increased trade brought about by the recreated East African Community of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Kenya Airways has daily flights to Nairobi.
Road
Most buses, matatus (minibuses), and taxis to various destinations in Kenya leave from the large bus and matatu stations north of the main market. Nairobi is 5½ hours from Kisumu and a matatu ride will cost you KSh550. Taxis cost about 25 percent more than matatus. Akamba and Easy Coach are the two main bus services in Kisumu. Akamba has daily buses to Nairobi for KSh500 a ticket and takes 7 hours.
Rail
Trains to Nairobi leave on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. Expect delays! It takes about 13 hours from Kisumu to Nairobi.
Boda-Boda
Bicycle taxis are numerous in Kisumu and great fun way to get around the town. And the rides are quite cheap as well.
Ferry
The Lake Victoria ferries are steam- and diesel-powered ships used for freight and passenger transport between Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya on Lake Victoria. The main ports on the lake are Kisumu, Mwanza, Bukoba, Entebbe, Port Bell and Jinja.
Typical journey times between Port Bell, in Uganda and Kisumu, in Kenya, are 13 hours and between Port Bell and Mwanza, in Tanzania, are 19 hours.
The original ferries serving the Uganda Railway in the early 1900s, were built in Britain, disassembled, transported in parts by sea to Mombasa and by rail to Kisumu and reassembled. The successor to Uganda Railway links Mombasa to the port of Kisumu on Lake Victoria. A Tanzanian railway links Mwanza and Dar es Salaam. This network allows countries of the African interior such as Uganda and Rwanda to transport freight to and from world markets.
FOOD AND DRINK
Seafood is abundant in this lakeside town of Kisumu. For delicious fish fry, try any of the numerous shack restaurants on the lake’s shore.
Florence Restaurant on Jomo Kenyatta Highway is known to be the best restaurant in Kisumu. Try their poached fish, mutton masala, and chicken Kiev.
Kisumu Yacht Club in Dunga requires a temporary membership, but the food is excellent—from struffed fish to chicken biriyani to palak paneer (spinach with cottage cheese).
Grill House on Accra Street offers a variety of food and is a nice streetside eatery.
Hussein Pan House on Accra Street has great Asian foods like biriyani and pilau.
Vault Restaurant off Oginga Odinga Road has an Italian menu; you’ll find good pizzas and pasta here.
New Victoria Hotel on Gor Mahia Road is a brightly colored restaurant and the meals are filling.
Oriental Restaurant in Al-Imran Plaza is an ok Chinese food eatery.
For Kenyan cuisine, check out Kimwa Café Annex off Oginga Odinga Road, New Farmers Hotel on Odera Street, and Tot Coffee House on Accra Street.
SHOPPING
Kisumu’s main market off Jomo Kenyatta Highway is one of Kenya’s most animated and largest. The Kibuye Market at the highway is a huge outdoor market—everything from second-hand clothes to furniture and food can be found here. The market stretches for a few kilometers! If you are looking for crafts, the various craft stalls near Kisumu Hotel are among the best places to go to in Kenya. Amidst the numerous products, some gems can be found.
ENTERTAINMENT AND ACTIVITIES
Clubs and Bars
The Kimwa Grand on Jomo Kenyatta Highway has live Congolese bands and hosts many big parties.
Mon Ami in Mega Plaza is easy to find and good for a drink.
Octopus Bottoms-Up Club is on Ogada Street. It has pool tables and its own disco. The crowd is largely male.
ACTIVITIES IN AND AROUND TOWN
Get a temporary membership at the Nyanza Club and indulge in the various sporty activities—swimming, pool, billiards, tennis, and squash.
To taste the high life, check into the Imperial Hotel or Kisumu Yacht Club.
If you want to chill with backpackers, there is the Kisumu Beach Resort.
Climb nearby Mount Homa on Lake Victoria’s south shore to get a fantastic view.
Walk down the dusty streets in and around Kisumu and check out the “dukas” or street shops, most of which sell audio tapes of Luo music.
Hang out the bustling harbor and take in life as it happens.
A visit to Ruma National Park (located south of Lake Victoria) can be very refreshing. It is home to Kenya’s rarest and largest antelope. Ruma can be reached from Kericho via Kisii and then through the fishing villages of Homa Bay and Kendu Bay. Or take the ferry from Luanda (on the way to Bondo) to Mbita Point.
Vist Thimlich Ohinga, East Africa’s most important archaeological site. It is east of Ruma National Park. You may need your own transport to get there.
Two hours from Kisumu on the south shore is the volcanic Simbi Lake, quite popular with bird watchers.
Sail to the twin islands of Mbita and Rusinga, uninhabited by people and full of monitor lizards, birds, crocodiles and snakes, and visit Tom Mboya’s memorial on the north side of the island.
Take a break in Nandi town and drop in at one of the most beautiful golf courses in the country, Nandi Bear Club.
Sail to Ndere Island, inhabited by rare sitatunga antelope, monitor lizards, African fish eagles, and gorgeous kingfishers.
For more adventure, drive to Lodwar, via Kitale, with a stopover at the Saiwa Swamp National Park. Lodwar is near the western shores of Lake Turkana.
ACCOMMODATION
Budget
The cheapest place offering a bed in Kisumu is the YMCA on the corner or Omolo Agar Road and Nairobi Road. It has dorm beds for KSh 150 with shared bathrooms.
Also a good budget hotel is the Razbi Guest House on the corner of Oginga Odinga Rd and Kendu Lane. It has clean singles/doubles with shared bathrooms.
Western Lodge on Kendu Lane has a number of small single rooms with mosquito nets and bathrooms. A nice balcony brings a view of the lake.
Hotel Natasha on Oginga Odinga Road is a simplce place with bright rooms with fans, hot water and clean bathrooms.
Kisumu Beach Resort is a basic lakeside resort and is popular among campers.
Midrange
For a step up, try the New Victoria Hotel on the corner of Kendu Lane and Gor Mahia Road. Rooms with balconies in front have a nice view of Lake Victoria. Single/double rooms with private bathrooms come with breakfast.
Hotel Inca just off of the Kenyatta Highway is also a good mid-range hotel. It has singles/doubles with attached bathrooms and fans.
Hotel Palmers on Omolo Agar Road has a warm atmosphere. The rooms are small but sunny, have decent bathrooms and breezy fans.
Hotel Vunduba on Mosque Road is a good value hotel with small but very clean rooms.
Rooms at New East View Hotel on Omolo Agar Road offer more character but the bathrooms are old.
Hotel Mamba on Mosque Road is a friendly place to stay in. The rooms are small and have TVs.
Joy Guest House near Hippo’s Point has a welcoming homely feel.
Top end
A nice top end place is the old Hotel Royale on Kenyatta Highway. Check out the room first, but most are quite nice and a good value.
The nicest hotel by far however is the Imperial Hotel. They have great rooms and the service is excellent. Their restaurants offer some great cuisine and are a good value for money taking into consideration the hotel's great ambiance. It has a swimming pool, an expensive restaurant and rooms with a view of the lake for
Sunset Hotel on Jomo Kenyatta Highway is a modern hotel with comfortable rooms and breezy balconies with gorgeous views.
Nyanza Club off Jomo Kenyatta Highway has huge rooms with balconies and leafy, sporty surroundings.
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