Kakamega forest is famous for its diversity of plants, bird species, insect life, and its uniqueness.  It is Kenya’s only remaining patch of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest, a rainforest that once spanned west and central Africa with its easternmost edge in Western Kenya.

The forest which is the only natural tropical rainforest left in Kenya is a terrain of hardwood trees, swamps, rivers, glades and shallow forests.  The Forest’s huge variety of birds (Some 367 bird species have been recorded in the forest), reptiles and insects make it a specialist eco-tourism attraction for bird-watchers and wildlife photographers.

The Forest is generally considered the eastern-most remnant of the lowland Congo rainforest of Central Africa since it is dominated by Central African species of flora and fauna. This old and impressive forest can be easily described as a hardwood forest with swamps and rivers, glades and shallow forest around the edges.

The climate is generally wet with 2,000 mm of rainfall/year with the long rains months being April to May and August to September as the short rains months. January and February are the driest months with July being slightly dry, generally the temperature is fairly constant all year with mean daily minimums of about 11 c and mainly daily maximums of about 26 c.

The terrain is undulating, with often steep-sided river valleys. The soils are well-drained, deep, heavily leached, clay-loams and clays, of generally low fertility.