A vast field of black basaltic lava that poured from the Chaimu volcano roughly 500 years ago, Shetani is one of the most surreal landscapes in Kenya. The lava stretches for kilometres, jagged and raw, with hardy vegetation only just beginning to take hold at its edges. You can walk across sections of it (wear sturdy shoes — the surface is razor-sharp in places) and explore the network of lava tubes and caves beneath. It's an eerie contrast to the surrounding scrubland, and a reminder that this landscape is geologically very young.
Shetani Lava Flow
Vast black lava field from a 500-year-old eruption
A story
The name shetani — Swahili for devil — was given by local communities who witnessed the eruption around 500 years ago. The landscape was so alien and destructive that no natural explanation seemed adequate.