Kimasian Railway Bridge
Unusual Attractions in Kericho
Kimasian Railway Bridge: The Highest in Kenya
Unmistakebale along the C35 Londiani-Kisumu Route and perfectly safe for the intrepid and history buff to explore, Kimasian Railway Bridge is often quoted as the highest and longest railways bridge in Africa. A plausible high-sounding title that is unverified. As Kenya’s longest on the old lunatic line is more definitive. It certainly is a long bridge, imposing, framing the verdant primitive undulating landscape with an antiquity of human ingenuity. There’s beauty, too, in the old colonial towns marked by colonial houses which tell the stories of a bygone era, as does the old colonial railway. And while it is a pleasure for the motorist and adventure seeker to marvel at this relic of the early 1900s, it must have been a nightmare for engineers, in a hinterland that was then devoid of any development.
Constructions of the infamous “Lunatic Express” as it came to be known began in 1896 in the port city of Mombasa. It was a huge triumph for the British East Africa Company and a rather expensive one, costing some £5.5m, or almost £650m in today’s money. The 970 kms Kenya-Uganda Railways, connecting Mombasa and Kampala, through an unpeopled hinterland lurking more dangers than one can shake a stick at, was the most substantial and seminal projects undertaken by the British East Africa Company. It took 36,811 workers 8-years (1895-1903) to complete the line. 2,493 workers died during the construction of the railway. As a pay-off, the Kenya-Uganda Railway opened the hinterland more rapidly than ever before, leaving in its wake a snowballing number of townships, including Nairobi.
On December 20, 1901, Lord Salisbury, then British Prime Minister, received a telegram advising him that the rails – crossing two-thirds of Kenya’s length over 500 miles from south-east to north-west – had at last reached the shores of Lake Victoria. It had also left it its wake burgeoning towns and encouraged European settlement. Despite sparking outrage at home, it definitely led to much progress, for which Kenya is indebted. Everything from the carriages to the silverware was shipped from Britain – with little hope of the line ever being profitable. About 32,000 workers placed 4.8 million steel keys along the rail line. The local tribes indubitably resisted it. And the wildlife was predatory. But, it was a great line!
Around Kenya are a selection of natural landmarks, cultural shrines, architectural oddities, and technological installations that offer incredible, almost surreal experiences that can make you feel as if you’ve stepped into another world. Hauntingly beautiful to some, eerie sights for others, and still, for others, down right strange, these site provide unique experiences for adventurous travelers.
Index of Unusual Attractions Around Kenya
Baringo County - Olduka (Mogotio) Valley, Busia County - The Alupe Leprosy Centre , Elgeyo Marakwet County - Kipteberr , Isiolo County - Magado Crater , Magado Cave Dwellings , Nantudu Spire Rock , Merti Catholic Church , Buffalo Springs , Harr Girrissa , Kericho County - Van Wicker's Cave , The Kipkelion Monastery , Kilifi County - Hell's Kitchen , Luigi Broglio Space Centre , Ngomeni Shipwreck , Kwale County - Three Sisters Caves, Mrima Hills Rare Earth Mine , Laikipia County - Sirmon & Nyariginu Confluence, Lamu County - The Lamu Donkey Sanctuary , Machakos County - Komarock Shrine , Kituluni Magical Hill , Makueni County - Kenze Gorges , Virgin Mary Shrine , Emali Trig , Holy Nzaui Rock , Mandera County - Marehan Sandstone , Marsabit County - Chalbi Desert, Meru County - Mystical Lake Nkunga , The Giant Footprints , Mombasa County - Kizingo , Mbaraki Pillar , Muranga County - Muranga Gorges , Nakuru County - Longonot Earth Station, Menegai, The Djinn House, Diana Caldwell's Shrine, Nandi County - Sheu Morobi Cliffs , Kopere Rocks , Nyandarua County - The Kinangop Step , Wanjohi Happy Valley , Dragon's Teeth , Nyeri County - Italian Memorial Church & Somali Wall, Taita Taveta County - The Taita Skull Caves , Shetani Lava , Yatta Springs , Nyiri Taru Desert , Crystal Caves at Lake Chala , Salaita (Slaughter) Hill , Haunted Sniper's Tree , Turkana County - Kapedo Falls, Lake Alablab, The Turkana Boy Monument, Samburu County - Samburu Singing Wells , Ngurunit Pools & Slides , Mystical Emuruangogolak , Vihiga County - Wagevere Rock , Nganyi Rainmakers Forest , Wajir County - Shaletey Caves
Located in southwestern part of Kenya within the former Rift Valley Province, Kericho County, a healthful highland, has innumerable picture-postcard tea-farm vistas. Kericho County is famous for its vast tea plantations. It is all around a tea-riffic countryside clutching traditions and culture with one hand and a forward-looking yen on the other. It is home to large forests, historic sites and resorts, too.
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Explore Destinations Nearby Kimasian Railway Bridge
A Guide to Kericho County
A Summa Digest of Kericho
About Kericho Way Back When
35 Destinations in Kericho County , arranged as one would visit these - east, north, south then west - with aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Mau Forest Reserve , Chereres Waterfalls , A.I.C Kericho , Chesumot Estate , Chagaik Arboretum , Chesumot Dam, Kimugu River Lodge , James Finlays Tea Factory , Dimbolil Dam , The Sacred Heart Cathedral , A.C.K Kericho , Kericho Golf Club , Gurdwara Sahib , Kericho Wagon Works , Kericho Tea Hotel , Chebown Sanctuary , Chelimo Arboretum , Tagabi Monkey Sanctuary , Changoi Tea Estate , Chebulu Conservancy , The Kiptui Falls, Kapkatet Kipsigis Cultural Museum , The Tulwap-Kipsigis Hill , Londiani-Koru-Awasi Route , Londiani Dam , Masaita Forest Station , KFC Hospitality Centre , Londiani Falls , Kimasian Railway Bridge , Kiminket Garden, Kipkelion Monastery , The Van Wicker's Cave , Fort Tenan Pre-Historic Site , Tinderet Mountain , Ole Soi Resort , Bagao Caves
Know More About Kericho County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including a distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
What’s The Air Like In Kericho?
The annual mean temperature ranges between 29 o C and 10 o C. The central part of the county, where tea is grown, receives the highest rainfall.
What’s The Lay Of The Land In C.35?
Kericho has an undulating topography, with the overall slope of the land being to the west – forming a hilly shelf between the Mau Hills and the lowlands of Kisumu.
