The Rainmakers Shrine
Nganyi Forest: Beyond Myth and Science
Forests foster many forms of life, from plants to insects and a dazzling variety of animals. And humans too. A mysterious, but all wise, unparalleled richness and impressive display of nature. It stands true around the world that forests – big, small, dense, thin – are an inexplicable form of nature’s grandeur. We behold them – haunted, mythical, sacred, diverse – as an influence upon human destiny.
Forests beckon and draw us within their cryptic sanctums of nature, to explore their mystique. In Vihiga, the one acre Nganyi Forest at Esibilia, near Luanda, lacks little in engendering the mysterious power of summoning nature. Nganyi is home to the famous rainmakers with abilities to predict rain, at the same time control it when floods occur. So revered is Nganyi Forest that the trees that fall over within it are at no time utilized for further merit but are left in it to decompose naturally.
Their legacy is so articulated that President Jomo Kenyatta pleaded with them to annul the prolonged drought of 1973, ergo their rainmaking traditions are as old as people have lived in these neck of the woods. The father of the Banyore sub-tribe, sometimes referred to as Anyole, is credited with being the very first rainmaker. Their gift of provoking rain was passed down through the elders of the Abasiekwe Clan, and doyen rainmakers have predicted weather for many ages since, reliably.
In a generally sense, intriguing when seen at close quarters, rainmaking at Nganyi Forest is conducted by observing budding, flowering and shedding of leaves of specific species, listening to croaking frogs, listening to chirping birds, as well as observing behaviors of local insects and animals. Comprehensibly a five-finger exercise, unadorned, it is amazingly accurate. So much so, that the Government set up a met station near the tiny forest, and both forecasts almost always match.
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
Typified by lush, green landscapes with rolling hills, rivers, waterfalls and forest, such as the much-noted Nganyi and Kaimosi Forests, which offer scenic spots for nature exploration and birdwatching, Vihiga County is famous for its agricultural productivity, especially tea and subsistence farming. Despite challenges related to population density it continues to thrive as a hotspot for farming and tourism.
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Explore Destinations Nearby Nganyi Rainmakers Forest
A Guide to Vihiga County
A Summa Digest of Vihiga
About Vihiga Way Back When
26 Attractions in Vihiga County, arranged as one would visit these - south, west, east then west - with aid of in-depth narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Nganyi Rainmakers Forest, Roddy's Green Lounge, Bunyore Hills, Mbale, Kima Stone Mountain, Kima Church of God, Mwitoko Fish Farm, Kidundu Friends Church, Maragoli Hills, Mungoma Caves, Givavei Cave, Givavei Artisans, Jesus Wagevere Rock, Chabuga Mausoleum, African Divine Church, Obida Ombima Mill, Sosa Cottages, Mudete Tea Factory, Magnum Resort, Turaco Intercounty Resort, Kaimosi Forest, Kaimosi Mission Wildlife Conservancy, Kakamega Forest, Kibiri Forest, River Yala, Kichutu Gold Mine
Know More About Vihiga County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including a distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
Vihiga experiences a high equatorial climate with well distributed rainfall year-round. Temperatures range between 14ºC and 32ºC.
Generally speaking, Vihiga slopes gently from west to east – with undulating hills and valleys plying streams flowing from northeast to southwest, all draining into Lake Victoria as the mouth.