Lake Simbi Nyaima offers a breathtaking legendary tale
Lake Simbi Nyaima in Homa Bay County. It is said the site was once a village but it was destroyed because of the inhabitants’ greed. Lately, locals say flamingoes have stopped flocking the lake as farming, sand harvesting and other human activities opens up the lake to pollution. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Water believed to be medicinal.
- Flamingos make the water body a temporary home every year.
Lake Simbi Nyaima in Karachuonyo, near Kendu Bay Town, is famed for its culture and other attractions.
Simbi Nyaima has proved its worth as a tourist destination. It lures local and international visitors yearning for a beautiful scenery and strange tales of its formation.
In Dholuo, “Simbi Nyaima” means the village that sank.
Geologists say it is a crater lake formed about six centuries ago.
They also believe that the lake came about as a result of earthquakes accompanied by volcanic eruptions.
LEGIO MARIA
However, locals tell a completely different story regarding the lake’s origin.
They believe it was a result of the villagers’ greed and arrogance.
Legend has it that there once existed a community on the site.
The village, however, disappeared in a violent storm when residents refused to shelter and feed an old woman who sought refuge there, creating a large depression that formed Lake Simbi Nyaima.
The water from the lake is believed to be medicinal. Locals say it can cure many diseases.
Legio Maria sect members flock the lake for body and spiritual healing.
One can smell the lake from more than 40 kilometres away.
Lake Simbi Nyaima is a seasonal home of migrating flamingos.
They arrive from lakes in the Rift Valley region, such as Nakuru, Baringo, Natron and Elementaita. The birds come to the lake every year.
What strikes almost every visitor is how the flamingos locate the lake, owing to the great distance between it and the other lakes.
The road network has improved greatly and it only takes 30 minutes to drive from Kendu Bay to the lake.
It would take about an hour to drive from Homa Bay Town to Lake Simbi Nyaima using the Homa Bay-Kisumu road.
Visitors can get refreshments and be entertained in the many hotels nearby like the Big Five in Kendu Bay Town and Tourist Hotel in Homa Bay Town.
Other interesting places near Lake Simbi Nyaima include the Kanjera Archeological site and Kendu Bay’s Old Town, where Arabs settled as early as 1920.
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