The world's largest permanent desert lake — 290 km long and intensely alkaline, with a distinctive jade-green colour visible from the air. Lake Turkana sits in the East African Rift Valley, surrounded by lava fields and semi-arid scrub, with the Jade Sea appearing suddenly after hours of empty landscape. The effect is startling.
The lake is home to some 12,000 Nile crocodiles, the largest concentration anywhere on earth, and flocks of flamingos on the southern shore. Ferguson's Gulf, reached by a dirt road east of Lodwar, is the most accessible point, with a basic campsite and stunning views across the water to Central Island — a volcanic crater island in the middle of the lake. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Koobi Fora, on the eastern shore, has yielded some of the most important early-human fossils ever found.