Chalbi Desert

The Chalbi Desert, a paradise located on the Northern Side of Kenya near the border with Ethiopia. It’s approximately 500 Km from Nairobi and approx 50km from Marsabit. Surrounded by volcanic remains, Chalbi Desert is the aridest and hottest place in Kenya. It has incredible huge sand dunes and beautiful natural sceneries.

The Chalbi Desert in northern Kenya has more to offer in picturesque and tranquil oases for some worthy moments. That and the fact that it is almost a sheer miracle that such a cool and vegetative spot can exist in such a vast region of nothing but sand and bareness.

When staying at Marsabit, you will be able to visit Lake Paradise in Marsabit National Park located in Marsabit County. It’s home to one of the huge elephant tuskers that reigned back in the 1960s and 70s called Ahmed.

Tribes and Culture

With its traditional nomadic routes, the region is also home to Kenya’s last nomadic tribes, such as the Turkana, Samburu, Marakwet, Pokot, Rendile, El Molo, and the Gabbra tribes. The Gabbra people of this area are a hardy race, and adaptation to a nomadic way of life ensures their survival.

Since Chalbi is an arid area, it gets hard for such communities to find water and food for their livestock and their own use. They tend to move and never spend a long time at a place.

They build temporary structures called manyattas, that are easy to demolish once time to move to the next stop arrives. In most cases, women and children are the ones left to build manyattas, while the men and young boys are out to graze and take care of their livestock