Attractions in Garissa County
Ancient El Wak Wells: Survival By All Means
From Garissa town, northerly heading through Wajir, it is a 493 km strenuous expedition to El Wak, the major town in the southern area of Mandera County. A knacker to any vehicle, the loose murram road projects a never-ending supply of pebbles in constant collision with the car’s underbelly. The vegetation is made up of acacia trees and thick layers of dust. Occasionally, a raised water pan emerges out of the horizon, beckoning caravans of camels and tribes of goats plus their herders who have walked miles to get to it. Otherwise, it is a forbidding country.
Settlement are few and unconsolidated, with the nomadic dweller always on the move. Livestock is the single most important natural resource for the people of Mandera County, and its main economy activity. Nearly all the land is listed as Trust Land and communally used for grazing. Even so, the land itself offers little vegetation to support the livestock and water is even harder to come by. Much of it is covered with open bush – a poor thorny type of savanna – covered with bare soil betwixt the bushes with little grass cover to protect the surface from erosion.
Against all odds, the nomadic communities living in Mandera County have developed means of surviving in this inhospitable place where many could not, and use an ingenious indigenous knack to find water that keeps the livestock hydrated. Key among these are the Ancient El Wak wells, hand dug with varying degrees of sophistication, most of which date back to 17th and 18th Century. Some reach depths of over 60 feet. The name El Wak translates into “the well of God”. There are about 50 wells spread across the town, each no less than 40 feet deep with interconnected underground passages. El Wak is 168 km south of Mandera.
Mandera County, in northeastern Kenya, sharing borders with Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the east, is a place of unique geographical features, cultural diversity, and unique socio-economic activities. Its obscurity stems from the facts that it is a semi-arid block, with rampant insecurity, and limited infrastructure development. Even so, Mandera County harbours many little-known surprises!
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Explore Destinations Nearby Ancient El Wak Wells
A Guide to Mandera County
A Summa Digest of Mandera
About Mandera Way Back When
8 Destinations in Mandera County, arranged as one would visit these - south, north then west - with the aid of in-depth narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
El Wak Ancient Wells, Fort El Wak, Marehan Sandstone, Malka Mari National Park, River Daua, Dandu Hills, Red Sea Resort, Mandera Town
Know More About Mandera County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including strip maps, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
For the most parts plain, only exemplified by its low-lying notable rocky hills which rise gradually from 400 ms south at Elwak to 970 ms asl along the boundary with Ethiopia.
Temperatures are always high in Mandera, with a minimum of 24oCelsius in July and a maximum of 42oCelsius in February. Rainfall is scanty, unreliable and unpredictable.
