Western Highlands

The towns in the western highlands are small, agriculturally-oriented service towns much like mid-western America.

The real attractions for tourists are clustered outside these towns: Mt. Elgon and Saiwa Swamp national parks near Kitale, the tea plantations surrounding Kericho, the Kakamega Forest near Kakamega, and the Cherangani Hills northeast of Eldoret.

Kisii is a remote town with very little tourist travel despite the fact that this is where the famous soapstone is mined. You can visit the village of Tabaka, 11 km beyond Kisii, to experience a working quarry. The entire village is involved in the quarry operation which includes the actual carving as well. Three active quarries are currently operating, each employing up to 50 people. The carvers are all men and most produce 6 - 10 carvings per day.

As the main center of the region known as the Gusii Highlands, Kisii is also home to the Gusii people. The Gusii are a Bantu-speaking people in the middle of a non-Bantu region: the Kipsigis, the Luo, and the Maasai all speak unrelated languages. As with most towns and villages, the market is the liveliest place to experience the people first-hand.

Kericho is the heart of Western Kenya's tea plantations. The lush green vegetation thrives with the daily afternoon rain showers. As the world's third largest tea producer, this product is one of Kenya's most important and vital exports. The hills around town are covered with acres of tea bushes as far as the eye can see. The town was named after Ole Kericho, a Maasai chief killed in the 18th century by the Gusii during a land dispute. Today Kericho is home to the Kipsigis people who are part of the larger Kalenjin group.

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