Map - Maralal

Maralal
Maralal is a small hillside market town in northern Kenya, lying east of the Loroghi Plateau within Samburu County, of which it is the capital. It is the administrative headquarters of Samburu county. The town has an urban population of 16,281 (1999 census). The market was pioneered by Somali settlers in the 1920s.

Approximately 2 km southwest of the town are the remains of the Maralal National Sanctuary. This nature site, closed by the Samburu County Government in September 2014, has now largely been absorbed into the town and the wildlife eradicated by poachers. Encroachment began from the south as villages expanded, so causing the natural wildlife corridors to be closed.

Maralal is also home to Kenyatta House, where Jomo Kenyatta was detained prior to his release. This rather unassuming modern house has a significant place in the history of modern Kenya.

Until 2016, the town hosted the Maralal International Camel Derby, but this has ceased to function primarily due to the outcry by foreign tourists objecting to the abuse of the animals used. Tourist activities in Maralal have slowed and the town is mostly a base for adventurous travellers heading to Lake Turkana, some 12 hours travel by road to the north.

Accommodation is cheap and lacking any sophistication, but improved roads heading to Maralal from the south should be completed by 2019, at which time tourism opportunities might improve. The closest airport is Kisima Airport, located in the nearby village of Kisima.

 
Map - Maralal
Map
Google - Map - Maralal
Google
Google Earth - Map - Maralal
Google Earth
Openstreetmap - Map - Maralal
Openstreetmap
Map - Maralal - Esri.WorldImagery
Esri.WorldImagery
Map - Maralal - Esri.WorldStreetMap
Esri.WorldStreetMap
Map - Maralal - OpenStreetMap.Mapnik
OpenStreetMap.Mapnik
Map - Maralal - OpenStreetMap.HOT
OpenStreetMap.HOT
Map - Maralal - OpenTopoMap
OpenTopoMap
Map - Maralal - CartoDB.Positron
CartoDB.Positron
Map - Maralal - CartoDB.Voyager
CartoDB.Voyager
Map - Maralal - OpenMapSurfer.Roads
OpenMapSurfer.Roads
Map - Maralal - Esri.WorldTopoMap
Esri.WorldTopoMap
Map - Maralal - Stamen.TonerLite
Stamen.TonerLite
Country - Kenya
Flag of Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya (Jamhuri ya Kenya), is a country in East Africa. With a population of more than 47.6 million in the 2019 census, Kenya is the 27th most populous country in the world and 7th most populous in Africa. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi, while its oldest, currently second largest city, and first capital is the coastal city of Mombasa. Kisumu City is the third-largest city and also an inland port on Lake Victoria. As of 2020, Kenya is the third-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa. Kenya is bordered by South Sudan to the northwest, Ethiopia to the north, Somalia to the east, Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast. Its geography, climate and population vary widely, ranging from cold snow-capped mountaintops (Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana on Mount Kenya) with vast surrounding forests, wildlife and fertile agricultural regions to temperate climates in western and rift valley counties and dry less fertile arid and semi-arid areas and absolute deserts (Chalbi Desert and Nyiri Desert).

Kenya's earliest inhabitants were hunter-gatherers, like the present-day Hadza people. According to archaeological dating of associated artifacts and skeletal material, Cushitic speakers first settled in Kenya's lowlands between 3,200 and 1,300 BC, a phase known as the Lowland Savanna Pastoral Neolithic. Nilotic-speaking pastoralists (ancestral to Kenya's Nilotic speakers) began migrating from present-day South Sudan into Kenya around 500 BC. Bantu people settled at the coast and the interior between 250 BC and 500 AD. European contact began in 1500 AD with the Portuguese Empire, and effective colonisation of Kenya began in the 19th century during the European exploration of the interior. Modern-day Kenya emerged from a protectorate established by the British Empire in 1895 and the subsequent Kenya Colony, which began in 1920. Numerous disputes between the UK and the colony led to the Mau Mau revolution, which began in 1952, and the declaration of independence in 1963. After independence, Kenya remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The current constitution was adopted in 2010 and replaced the 1963 independence constitution.
Currency / Language  
ISO Currency Symbol Significant figures
KES Kenyan shilling Sh 2
Neighbourhood - Country  
  •  Ethiopia 
  •  Somalia 
  •  South Sudan 
  •  Tanzania 
  •  Uganda