Deserts in Kenya: A Journey Through Arid Beauty

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Kenya, often celebrated for its breathtaking wildlife and lush landscapes, is a country of incredible diversity. While its national parks and savannahs draw millions of tourists yearly, Kenya also hides a secret: its captivating deserts. These arid regions offer a unique beauty that’s worth exploring. They are characterized by warm to scorching temperatures with cooler nights and receive low rainfall.

Deserts in Kenya tend to be very remote, sparsely populated, completely wild and have very few plants and animals adapted to the coarse, dry soil and the ever-present wind. The vast expanses of dunes and dramatic rock formations offer a different kind of adventure for those seeking to uncover Kenya’s diverse and multifaceted beauty.

1. Chalbi Desert

The Chalbi Desert is a small desert near the Southern border of Ethiopia between Mount Marsabit and Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. The word Chalbi means a bare, salty place in the language of Gabbra pastoralists who inhabit this part of Kenya. The desert lies at an elevation of 370 meters above sea level and covers approximately 100,000 sq. km. It is Kenya’s only terrain classified as a true desert. It’s among the aridest regions and hottest deserts in Kenya.

The vast desert was formerly covered by a lake formed by damming from lava flows resulting from volcanic activities in the Mount Marsabit area. The plains around this area consist of an extensive lava plateau and volcanic hills. Dunes, ash-grey ridges, broken clusters of tiny huts, and inselbergs of varying sizes and shapes dot the landscape. Dust storms blow across Chalbi, moving sand and silt particles towards the northwest, and lines of camels shimmer in a mirage-like vista. The bleached stretch of coarse sand is enlivened with immense clay, and pure rocks are frequent with desert storms.

The climate of the Chalbi Desert

The temperature conditions of Chalbi Desert vary from over 36°C during February, the hottest month, to as low as 18°C during July, the coldest month. Temperatures are very high during the day and get extremely chilly at night. 

Wildlife in the Chalbi Desert

The saline soil of the desert allows only a few plants to survive, so most of the Chalbi is bare of vegetation. Occasionally, you can see oryx, ostrich, and zebra dashing across the vast white land and the Gabbra leading their camels between watering holes and grazing lands on the desert margin. 

Things to do in the Chalbi Desert

A visit to the Chalbi desert is a worthwhile adventure. It is a perfect place for:

• Desert safaris and motorsports
• Camel derbies and caravans
• Nature treks and filming, among other experiences.
• Cultural tours with the local communities like the Gabbra, the Rendille, Orma, Turkana, El Molo, and Dasanaach, among others. 

To the north, discover the Huri Hills, which liss the sweating traveler with moderate temperatures and distant vistas over a boiling country.

The Chalbi Desert is an ocean of hot and dry volcanic sand, stretching from one horizon to another with an oasis in Kalacha. The oasis is beautifully surrounded by doum palms and acacia trees, which offer a haven from the hot and intense sun. At Kalacha Springs, locals, tourists, livestock, and camels come to slake their thirst. The village of Kalacha stands at the north end of the desert. The Gabbra community has a beautiful culture, including great food, cultural festivals, art, games, striking dances, and colorful adornments, among other traditions.

How to get to the Chalbi Desert

It’s a 7 to 8 hours drive from Nairobi. There will be lots to see and experience on the road trip: views of Mount Kenya, the yellow-filled canola and wheat fields in Timau, the mighty Ewaso Nyiro River, Mt. Ololokwe, and Moile Hill, among others.

Top ways to experience the Chalbi Desert and nearby attractions

2. Nyiri Desert

Nyiri Desert, also known as Taru Desert or The Nyika, is a desert in southern Kenya. It lies approximately 80 km east of Lake Magadi, extending to the south border of Kenya. Nyiri covers the Amboseli National Park, including the northern half of Lake Amboseli. Tsavo West National Park lies at its southern border, and Nairobi National Park lies at its north edge. A vast section of Kajiado County’s land area is part of the Nyiri Desert. The rain shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro causes its aridity.

Several parts of Nyiri have dense but enormously diverse growths of small trees, some poisonous and thorny. There are noticeable game trails among them. Water is scarce except in a few widely spaced riverbeds and large springs.

During the occasional rainy season, the trees have green leaves and flowers. Still, during the dry season, they are bare and entangled by hornlike fronds of spiky euphorbia and grayish-green creepers. Baobab trees are sparsely found in Nyiri, some as old as two thousand years, their gray trunks often as much as 3 m wide.

What to See in Nyiri Desert

Nyiri Desert plain has exposed loose gravels consisting predominantly of pebbles, exposed bedrock outcrops, and desert soils. Rocky hills superimpose older rocks and mark the plains.

Wildlife includes giraffes, elephants, rhinoceros, leopards, lions, impala, and lesser kudu.