Kakamega Forest: Butterfly Walk with Naturalist Guide

Discover the vibrant world of butterflies in Kakamega Forest on a guided walk with a naturalist. Learn about the forest’s biodiversity and capture stunning photos of butterflies in their habitat.
Begin your experience at the Kakamega Forest station or designated trailhead, where you are welcomed by a trained naturalist who specializes in butterflies and rainforest wildlife. Before stepping into the forest, your guide provides a short introduction to Kakamega’s history—its origins as part of the ancient Guineo-Congolian rainforest belt that once stretched across Central Africa. Today, Kakamega remains a living relic of that green world, hosting plant and animal species found nowhere else in East Africa.

Walk along a gentle path lined with wildflowers, ferns, and young saplings. This is where you first start spotting butterflies basking in patches of sunlight—some floating slowly like paper in the breeze, others zipping past in bright flashes of yellow, blue, or orange. Your guide explains how different species prefer different microhabitats:

- Sun-loving swallowtails near open forest glades
- Jewel-like lycaenids among the understory bushes
- Nymphalids feeding on fallen fruit
- Pierids gathering minerals along damp patches

Continue deeper into the forest, and follow the trail beneath a dense canopy of Elgon teak, strangler figs, red stinkwood, and wild dracaena trees. Sunbeams filter through the leaves, creating a magical glow that brings butterflies to life in shimmering colors. Your guide helps you identify species using field cues—wing markings, flight style, or the plants they land on.

Learn about the butterfly life cycle and how host plants sustain different species. Discover how some butterflies mimic toxic species to avoid predators, while others rely on camouflage that blends them perfectly into the forest environment. Your guide also shares local Luhya community knowledge about forest insects, medicinal plants, and conservation traditions passed down through generations.

Occasionally, the walk opens into clearings where clusters of butterflies gather in puddling groups, extracting minerals from the soil. This is one of the best photography moments—your guide helps you position yourself for close-up shots without disturbing the butterflies.

Along the way, you may encounter other rainforest wildlife:

- Black-and-white colobus monkeys swinging above
- Blue monkeys foraging in treetops
- Hornbills, turacos, sunbirds, and other endemic birds
- Tree frogs hidden in leafy corners
- Colorful beetles, dragonflies, and forest ants

Your guide explains how the forest’s biodiversity is interconnected: butterflies act as pollinators, food for birds, and indicators of forest health. Every sighting becomes a learning moment, making the walk both educational and immersive.

För att garantera tillgänglighet, boka så snart som möjligt. Tidig bokning är värt att överväga, särskilt om du planerar resan under högsäsong som allmänna helgdagar eller helger.

Denna utflykt kan du avboka utan kostnad upp till 24 timmar före resans start. Om du avbokar efter 24 timmar eller inte dyker upp på utflykten kommer du fortfarande att debiteras hela priset för aktiviteten. Att vara sen vid upphämtning eller avresa kommer att betraktas som att inte dyka upp.