01/10/2026
Walk the Rift Valley, witness its heritage and let its beauty change how you see the world. I promise, you won't regret it.
The Great Rift Valley is a corridor that runs north to south, shaping landscapes and livelihoods. You can feel its pull as you drive from the Subukia escarpment down to the Kerio Valley, each bend revealing another layer of history and nature.
This trail from Subukia is part of the Trans Rift Trails covering 150km, all the way to Kerio South.
Let me take you on a journey. We begin at Lake Solai, in Rongai Constituency, specifically within the Solai Ward in Nakuru County.
The Solai–Bahati Road is the primary route used to travel from Nakuru town through Bahati to reach the lake.
This lake has been affected by the rising levels of the Rift Valley lakes. Now there's fish.
Yes, there are fish in Lake Solai.
Historically, the lake's high salinity meant it did not support a substantial commercial fish population.
However, after the heavy rains in the Rift Valley caused the lake to expand, the Nakuru County Government, in collaboration with the National Government, successfully introduced and restocked fish into the water body.
Lake Solai is tinged with a pink pigment and is perfect for camping, a quiet retreat where you can pitch a tent and wake to the sound of water lapping against the shore.
If you’re a hiker, the trail from Solai to Kapicha Campsite is a gift. Start early, before the sun grows fierce, and you’ll notice the temperature shift as you cross from Nakuru into Baringo.
As you travel north from Lake Solai to Kapicha, you cross the Nakuru–Baringo county border almost immediately after leaving the lake area.
The border is located just 1 to 2 kilometres north of Lake Solai's northern edge.
The moment you cross the seasonal streams and the flat agricultural terrain just north of the lake, you enter Mogotio Sub-county (specifically the Kisanana Ward / Kapnosgei location of Baringo County).
Approximately 20 kilometers later,you arrive at Kapicha campsite, one of the most scenic spots on earth. Locals recall how, in the 1990s, visitors flocked here just to take photographs against the backdrop of Lake Bogoria. The name itself carries cultural weight: in Kalenjin tradition, the “Ka” or “Kap” prefix ties a place to a household or figure. Kapicha carries its own story of belonging. It's from the Swahili word 'Picha', meaning photo.
Kapicha Campsite and Ecotourism Centre hub. Equipped with tents and camping space, it offers birdwatchers the chance to spot flamingos with nothing more than a pair of binoculars. Yet the beauty of Lake Bogoria, down below is fragile. Rising Rift Valley waters threaten to merge it with Lake Baringo, a union that could erase the distinct alkaline ecosystem that sustains Bogoria’s famous flamingos. For those of us who have stood at its shores, the thought of losing Bogoria as a singular entity is devastating.
Lake Bogoria itself is a jewel of the Rift. Its alkaline waters nurture algae, which in turn feed the flamingos that paint the lake pink. But beyond its beauty, Bogoria reminds that ecotourism thrives only when ecosystems remain intact. If these lakes merge, the ripple effects will touch biodiversity, local livelihoods, and the tourism economy.
Walking through the Trans Rift Trails, camping by its lakes, and listening to the stories of its people reveal how ecotourism is about preserving. As Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo face uncertain futures, the call is clear. We must protect these places, not only for the photos we take but for the generations who will walk these paths after us.
#𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 .
