Kisii
©
Kisii

Kisii

Gusii Highlands market town in cool tea-and-coffee country, known for nearby Tabaka soapstone carving.

Kisii is the main town of the Gusii Highlands in southwestern Kenya, a busy commercial centre serving the surrounding tea and coffee country. It sits at around 1,700 metres, which gives it a cooler, greener climate than much of Kenya — the hills around town are intensely cultivated, with terraced fields climbing the slopes in every direction.

The town itself is not a tourist destination, but it is a useful base for exploring western Kenya. The region is known for its soapstone carvings, quarried and carved in the village of Tabaka about 20 km northwest of town. Kisii is also a common stopover on the route between Nairobi and Lake Victoria.

Other things worth a look around town include the busy municipal market and the views from the Manga Ridge to the north. A longer trip out to the Sondu Miriu gorge shows the wilder, less farmed edge of the highlands.

Guide

Day Trips

The natural day trip from Kisii is Tabaka, the soapstone-carving village 20 km to the west, which can easily be combined with a drive over to the Sondu Miriu gorge for the afternoon. A whole day will give you time to visit several Tabaka workshops and to drive to the river overlooks.

Kisumu, on the shore of Lake Victoria, is two hours away by matatu and makes a stretched but feasible day trip — early start required. Closer to home, the village of Nyabururu, north of town, has a celebrated Catholic mission and pretty hill walks; Kericho, with its tea estates, is two hours north on the way back to Nakuru.

Guide

Eating Out

Kisii is a working town and its food is honest and cheap. Most travellers eat at one of the hotel restaurants — the Sahara Springs, the Zonic and the Mash Park all do reliable Kenyan and Indian dishes — or pick up something from the matatu-stand stalls.

Try kienyeji chicken, the lean free-range bird that the Gusii raise on their smallholdings, slow-stewed and served with ugali. The local greens — sukuma wiki (collards) and managu (African nightshade) — are excellent. For something sweet, look for mursik, fermented milk traditionally aged in a charred gourd; it is more usually a Kalenjin thing but turns up in Kisii markets too. Goat nyama choma is on every menu in town.

Guide

Getting There

By road. Kisii sits on the main A1 trunk road from Nairobi through Kericho to Migori and the Tanzanian border. Buses and matatus run constantly from Nairobi (7-8 hours), Nakuru (4-5 hours) and Kisumu (2 hours). The road is paved throughout and reasonably good. Mash, Easy Coach and Modern Coast all serve Kisii from Nairobi.

By air. Kisii Airport, 8 km west of town, has a paved runway but at present no scheduled commercial flights. Most travellers fly to Kisumu (about 90 minutes' drive away) and continue by road. There is talk of restarting Kisii flights but it is best to assume the road.

By matatu. Kisii is the main matatu hub for the surrounding region. The downtown stand is busy and a little overwhelming; ask a conductor for your destination and you will be put on the right vehicle.

Guide

Things to Do

Kisii is a working highland town rather than a tourist destination, but the soapstone carving villages, the Gusii Highlands and the area's intensely green tea and banana country reward a couple of days of exploring. Most travellers use Kisii as a base for trips out to Tabaka, the Manga Ridge and the Sondu Miriu gorge.