A flock of flamingos flies over Lake Magadi in Kenya.[Photo by Jin Gong/Solent News]
Pink-tinged Lake Magadi
Another key nearby attraction is the scenic, pink-tinged Lake Magadi, an amazing destination for landscape photography, filmmaking, adventure camping safaris, and bird-watching, especially flamingos.
The lake's reddish hue is the result of chemical reactions between algae and the salt in the water.
Lake Magadi is also popular for its soda ash and hot springs, where visitors can bathe in water believed to be therapeutic. As no perennial streams flow into the lake its water is mainly replenished by these saline hot springs.
According to Australia's Saltwork Consultants, Lake Magadi contains more than 30 billion metric tons of trona (a sodium bicarbonate compound that can be processed into soda ash or bicarbonate of soda) in a bed between 7 and 40 meters thick. The lake is believed to have formed over the course of the past 9,000 years as a result of volcanic activity and high levels of precipitation in the Great Rift Valley region.
Trona has been mined at the lake since 1914, and the facility currently owned and operated by Tata Chemicals Magadi produces 350,000 tons of soda ash per year, according to Saltwork.
The thermal springs driven by the area's volcanic activity are the primary source of salt in the lake, and the water arises from a deep, actively circulating groundwater reservoir.
In addition, visitors can experience the beauty of Maasai culture by staying in Maasai villages, visiting Maasai homes, and sampling traditional meals, which will give them an insight into a community that has retained its traditions, lore, and lifestyle.
