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Around eight million years ago Mother Earth tried to rip Africa in two.; Africa bent, Africa  buckled, but Africa never gave in. The continent's battle scar stretches thousands of kilometres from Ethiopia to Mozambique and forms a series of stunning landscapes . Some of the most attractive wounds are found in Kenya's famous Rift Valley, where serrated escarpments, splintered volcanoes towers, grassy plains and shallow soda lakes can be found. Lake Nakuru for example is a strongly alkaline lake and as Lake Bogoria or Lake Elmenteita famous for its pink sea of flamingos.
 

Nowadays Lake Nakuru National Park, which surrounds the lake, is the second most visited park in Kenya and consists of rich areas of grassland, rocky cliffs and euphorbia or acacia forests. When I visited the park in April 2007, there were millions of flamingos due to healthy water levels over the last decade (the population had risen and fallen enormously in the past). Besides the flamingos Lake Nakuru  is one of the very few African national parks that harbours healthy populations of Rothschild giraffes and both black and white rhinos (keen danger for my 4 X 4 J !). Lions are rarely seen as several prides had to be killed after a series of deadly attacks on people in the late 90s. Baboon cliff offers the best view of the lake.
 

But the Rift Valley offers much more fantastic views and the escarpments display great hiking terrains. Longonot and Hell's Gate National Park are the area's most famous hiking and cycling territories. Both parks are usually accessed from Lake Naivasha. The small Hell's Gate National Park is together with Lake Bogoria famous for its natural hot geysers and offers the unique opportunity to cycle or walk around unguided across its breadth. You can get very close to curious giraffes, zebras and baboons. Fischer's Tower, formerly a volcano's plug, is a column of volcanic rock and one of the park’s biggest attractions. Highly recommended is an excellent walk that descends into Ol Njorowa Gorge, but avoid the midday hours, as it can get pretty hot! It’s a steep and slippery descent, so take care, particularly, when it starts to rain. This narrow gorge has been stunningly sculpted by water and its hot waterfalls are evidence of volcanic activity.