Unusual Attractions in Isiolo
Magado Crater: Unusual Igembe Salt Pools
Anywhere they occur, multi-colored lakes are extraordinary natural phenomena where the waters exhibit a range of vibrant colors due to various environmental and geological factors. These lakes are often found in volcanic regions or areas with unique mineral compositions. The same, Magado Crater, uniquely formed of saline pools dazzling with many colours – green, red, brown, peach, melba, white – varying over time, which have been a shared well for salt and a meeting place for the multiplicity of communities living around it, is truly an a unique attraction.
During the hotter months of the year, Magado Crater is highly alkaline, adorning a darker reddish hue caused by salt-loving microorganisms and algae that thrive in the extreme conditions. Presently, the crater lake is so caustic that pastoralists and animals flock in to mine, easily collecting the brine. The vibrant colors are due to a combination of mineral deposits, algae, and the reflection of surrounding forests. A trip to the Magado Crater not only offers a chance to visit an untravelled oddity that lacks recognition as a great spectacle, but one that’s rare and otherworldly.
Magado Crater is accessible from Mutuati, off B9 Isiolo-Mandera Road, or from Nakuprat-Gotu and Shaba National Reserve. Most hotels in the area are happy to organize your trip. The Ameru people in particular have been collecting brine at Magado for many a generations, and in recent development have welcomed the company of Borana and Somali cultures to cordially share the salt pools. As the small lake on the floor evaporate to form the kooky soda salt crust, they all gather here. It is not rare to the visitor to Magado Crater, during the dry season, to meet all members of these tribes here, and to watch them extracting the raw salt brine.
During the dry season, as the small lake recedes, the soda that remains behind is collected. After the rains, these multi-colored lakes are less colourful, of a mostly brown state, but, in consideration to their rugged surrounding, still offer unique views and unique experiences for visitors. Likewise, the three resident tribes still communally gather at Magado Crater, to water their cattle in this natural collecting basin. Still and all, the vivid colors of Magado Crater, result of specific geological actions, make this oddity an unusual attraction and wonder of the natural world. It is located at the eastern edge of the Nyambene Reserve, 64 km from Isiolo town.
Around Kenya are a selection of natural landmarks, cultural shrines, architectural oddities, and technological installations that offer incredible, almost surreal experiences that can make you feel as if you’ve stepped into another world. Hauntingly beautiful to some, eerie sights for others, and still, for others, down right strange, these site provide unique experiences for adventurous travelers.
Index of Unusual Attractions Around Kenya
Baringo County - Olduka (Mogotio) Valley, Busia County - The Alupe Leprosy Centre, Elgeyo Marakwet County - Kipteberr, Isiolo County - Magado Crater, Magado Cave Dwellings, Nantudu Spire Rock, Merti Catholic Church, Buffalo Springs, Harr Girrissa, Kericho County - Van Wicker's Cave, The Kipkelion Monastery, Kilifi County - Hell's Kitchen, Luigi Broglio Space Centre, Ngomeni Shipwreck, Kwale County - Three Sisters Caves, Mrima Hills Rare Earth Mine, Laikipia County - Sirmon & Nyariginu Confluence, Lamu County - The Lamu Donkey Sanctuary, Machakos County - Komarock Shrine, Kituluni Magical Hill, Makueni County - Kenze Gorges, Virgin Mary Shrine, Emali Trig, Holy Nzaui Rock, Mandera County - Marehan Sandstone, Marsabit County - Chalbi Desert, Meru County - Mystical Lake Nkunga, The Giant Footprints, Mombasa County - Kizingo, Mbaraki Pillar, Muranga County - Muranga Gorges, Nakuru County - Longonot Earth Station, Menegai, The Djinn House, Diana Caldwell's Shrine, Nandi County - Sheu Morobi Cliffs, Kopere Rocks, Nyandarua County - The Kinangop Step, Wanjohi Happy Valley, Dragon's Teeth, Nyeri County - Italian Memorial Church & Somali Wall, Taita Taveta County - The Taita Skull Caves, Shetani Lava, Yatta Springs, Nyiri Taru Desert, Crystal Caves at Lake Chala, Salaita (Slaughter) Hill, Haunted Sniper's Tree, Turkana County - Kapedo Falls, Lake Alablab, The Turkana Boy Monument, Samburu County - Samburu Singing Wells, Ngurunit Pools & Slides, Mystical Emuruangogolak, Vihiga County - Wagevere Rock, Nganyi Rainmakers Forest, Wajir County - Shaletey Caves
Isiolo County, with its strategic location, rich cultural heritage, and potential for development, is a unique region in Kenya. It features a mix of semi-arid and arid landscapes, with some areas of savannah and bushland, and home to several wildlife reserves and conservancies, including the Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Shaba National Reserve and the famed Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
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A Guide to Isiolo County
A Summa Digest of Isiolo
About Isiolo Way Back When
42 Destinations in Isiolo County, arranged as one would visit these - south, north, east then north - with aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Isiolo Town, St. Eusebius Cathedral, Isiolo Jamia Mosque, Isiolo Memorial, Kisimani Eco Resort, Isiolo Falls, Kaita and Degushi Hills, Nyambeni Range, Magado Crater, Cave Dwellings, Harr Girrissa, Mlima Tatu, Kubi Turkana, Garba Tula, Gotu Falls, Gotu Cultural Centre, Biliqo Bulesa Conservancy, Merti Plateau, Merti Catholic Church, Ewaso Nyiro River, Lorian Swamp, Malka Cultural Centre, Bisanadi National Reserve, Kora Wells, Leparua Conservancy, Ol Lentille Conservancy, The Sanctuary at Ol Lentille, Oldonyiro Conservancy, Nantudu Spire Rock, Nasuulu Conservancy, Buffalo Springs National Reserve, Buffalo Springs, Samburu National Reserve, Samburu Simba Lodge, Shaba National Reserve, Sarova Shaba Lodge, Joy’s Camp, Nakuprat Gotu Conservancy, Boji Dera Camp, Sera Conservancy, Isiolo Cultural Festival, Camping in the Great North
Know More About Isiolo County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - with the aid of strip maps, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
Isiolo is almost always hot and dry at most months of year, with a mean of 30oC, and two rainy seasons. The rainfall received is historically erratic, scarce and unreliable.
Isiolo can be split into three ecological zones, semi-arid, arid and very near desert arid. The smallest, useful, semi-arid zone covers only 5% the county, around Kinna region.