Famous landmarks in Kenya

Kenya is a country in East Africa on the Indian Ocean, and the equator runs right across it. Its capital, Nairobi, is one of the biggest cities in Africa. Kenya is famous for its wildlife safaris, the yearly Great Migration of wildebeest and zebras, the Great Rift Valley, snowy Mount Kenya and its world-champion long-distance runners.

On My Earth Toy you can visit the Maasai Mara grasslands, Mount Kenya, and Fort Jesus, a Portuguese fort built in the 1590s to guard the old harbour of Mombasa. Look out for the African elephant, the brightly striped vulturine guineafowl and the gerenuk, a long-necked antelope that stands on its hind legs to nibble leaves.

Geography and nature

Kenya has coral reefs and white beaches on its coast, dry plains in the north, and cool, green highlands in the middle. Mount Kenya, 5,199 metres tall, is the second-highest mountain in Africa and still has small glaciers near the equator. The Great Rift Valley cuts through the country, holding lakes such as Nakuru, famous for flamingos, and Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world. Savanna parks are home to lions, giraffes, rhinos and huge herds of grazing animals.

People, languages and culture

Swahili and English are both official languages, and Kenyans belong to more than 40 ethnic groups, including the Kikuyu, Luhya, Kalenjin, Luo and Maasai. Most people are Christian, and many people on the coast are Muslim. The Maasai are known for their red cloth and beaded jewellery. Kenyan runners, many from the highlands of the Rift Valley, regularly win Olympic and marathon races. A favourite meal is ugali, a stiff maize porridge eaten with stew or greens.

History in a nutshell

Some of the most important fossils of early humans have been found around Lake Turkana. For centuries, Swahili towns on the coast such as Mombasa and Lamu traded across the Indian Ocean with Arabia, India and beyond. The Portuguese arrived around 1500, followed later by Omani Arabs. In the late 19th century Britain took control, and many Kenyans later fought for freedom, including in the Mau Mau uprising of the 1950s. Kenya became independent on 12 December 1963, with Jomo Kenyatta as its first leader.