en.infoglobe.cz » Kenya: Tea Plantations and Mountains Vistas Around Meru – VIDEO
Kenya: Tea Plantations and Mountains Vistas Around Meru – VIDEO
Published: 9.4.2019
Kenya is one of the largest tea exporters in the world thanks to the British. The local mountains provide the ideal climate for its cultivation; Of course, as a tea lover, I couldn't visit the biggest tea area around Mt. Kenya before I left.
The whole region at the eastern foot of Kenya's highest mountain and Africa's second highest mountain will surprise you with its abundance and shades of green. One of the greenest provinces is Meru, where you will also find many tea plantations and factories. But during my travels I also visited the plantations and the factory near the village of Kangaita on the south side of the mountain, where I even had an excursion to the tea research center.
The tea was brought to Kenya by the British at the beginning of the 20th century, until then tea was only grown in Asia. Nowadays, however, it is one of the most important components of Kenya's exports and the whole tea industry is one of the largest employers in the regions where tea is grown.
Over 60 percent of Kenya tea plantations are owned by small farmers, as well as shares in tea factories managed by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). Thanks to this, there are projects that support local communities and ecology. Among other things, local farmers use almost no chemicals either for fertilization or as pesticides and herbicides. As a result, Kenyan tea is one of the best, but most of it is processed into tea bags and sold at a very low price.
That is why some factories are trying to gradually introduce gentle processing procedures that will allow them to get a larger amount of pounds for a kilo of tea, which will benefit the entire local community. We'll get to that in the next part.
If you go to Meru, stop by some of the waterfalls outside the tea plantations. The best known is Kathita Waterfall on the outskirts of the city. I also recommend a trip to the forest in Mount Kenya National Park, where among other things you can meet wild elephants, buffaloes and lots of monkeys.
The capital of Kenya, Nairobi, boasts several unique features. The most interesting one for any visitor certainly is the national park of the same name. About 7 kilometers from the city center, over 100 square kilometers, you have the chance to see lions, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, zebras, ostriches or antelopes.
Kilimanjaro is the highest one. But it is said that Mount Kenya is definitely the nicest. I haven't been to "Killi" yet, but I will remember hitting and views of Mount Kenya for the rest of my life and I will be happy to come back. Just because of the glaciers less than 20 kilometers from the equator.
One of the most beautiful and perhaps the most surprising places you can visit in Kenya is the Mount Kenya National Park. You can come for a day and watch wild elephants, buffaloes or monkeys in the magnificent mountain forest, or try to conquer the Lenan peak rising to nearly 5000 meters, without need of any special climbing methods.
Already in the last episode you might have learned that Kenya is one of the largest tea producers in the world. Let's now take a look behind the walls of the tea factories where the fascinating transformation from green tea leaves to the form of tea we know in Europe takes place.
I flew to Africa for the first time. I did not expect anything from it. So Kenya could only surprise me. This choice was basically a coincidence. Within a month, I fell in love with her. I got a lot of new friends, experienced the beauty of wildlife, enjoyed the real adventure on a motorbike and strolled up to 5000 meters for an unforgettable sunrise. At least part of the experiences will share with you in the new series.
Leaving out Lake Naivasha during a visit to Kenya would be a sin. Unlike other national parks, you do not pay for entry, but you can almost certain that you will see hippos, plenty of waterfowl and probably buffaloes or giraffes in the immediate vicinity.
Kenya is an important African country, which has great nature wealth, involving unique sorts of fauna and flora, as well as its colonial past of mixture with local culture and customs.
On the east coast of equatorial Africa lies wild Kenya, beautiful country with wildlife. Although most people are poor farmers there you can also find a luxurious beach resort with excellent facilities on untouched beaches of the sky blue ocean.
Shallow Lake Bogoria is about 50 km from Nakuru, Kenya. It lies in a deep valley surrounded by mountains, offering wonderful views. Especially here you will see a lot of waterbirds, including huge flocks of flamingos.
The first place I headed from the capital was Mount Longonot National Park. The 2 780-meter high volcano with an almost perfect crater offers a wonderful trek and the opportunity to see close enough wild animals. I set off right after sunrise and I did not regret it.
Another of the parks where I couldn't resist in Kenya and went wild, was relatively small Hell’s Gate in the immediate vicinity of Lake Naivasha. There are several canyons and lots of animals all year round. I was lucky to meet giraffes and dozens of buffaloes from a few meters away.
Tsavo National Park is huge. It is so great that he even had to split into two, so that visitors to his disadvantage in the world: you have to pay at the entrance to each section. But that inconvenience all over - about 21 thousand km² East and West Tsavo Park welcomes you to the lions roar, and maybe you will finally find out, as does the giraffe.
Nairobi ("a place where cold water is available") belongs to one of greatest towns in Africa. The British citadel, where the town was established (in the altitude of nearly 2000 metres above sea level), protected one of the first railway line (Mombasa-Victoria Lake) of the continent.