This Park offers undiscovered wildlife treasures and undisturbed peace with a mosaic of landscapes ranging from rolling savanna and riverine woodland to magnificent escarpments and towering cliffs all offering a good scenery.
It is nestled in Kenya’s Nyanza province in Suba district lying on the flat floor of the seasonal Lambwe River valley bordered by the Kanyamwa escarpment to the southeast and by the volcanic plugs of the Ruri hills to the north.
The Park is the only terrestrial park in Kenya’s Nyanza province and it is the country’s last remaining sanctuary for the endangered rare roan antelopes thus it is dubbed the “Last Retreat of the Roan Antelope’’.
However as of now, the population of the rare roan antelopes is on the verge of extinction with individual populations numbering approximately 40.
Ruma is one of the most unique and beautiful parks in Kenya covering an area of 120 square kilometers and it is located 425 kilometers west of Nairobi (Kenya’s capital city) and only 10 kilometers east of Africa’s largest freshwater lake (Lake Victoria) and also about 30 kilometers from Rusinga Island.
Thus a visitor can also opt for visiting lake Victoria and enjoy the various activities there such as boat cruises to its nearby beautiful Islands where you will learn the lives of the local people who reside there and since the most economical activity there is fishing, you will be able to identify most of the fish species caught from Lake Victoria such as; Tilapia, Nile perch, cat fish, Tiger fish, Lung fish, Silver fish, Sprats, and Electric cat fish among others.
The park was named ‘’Ruma’’ after one of Kenya’s most fierce and powerful wizard called ‘’Gor Mahia’’ who lived around the Park though it was first established as Lambwe Valley Game Reserve in 1966.
The Park’s major attraction are its rare roan antelopes which are not very common in most of Kenya’s best Parks however other wildlife species in the Park include; African leopards, eastern black rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffes, Oribis, Cape buffalos, Lelwel and Jackson’s hartebeests, Olive baboons, Bohor/Mountain reedbucks, hyenas, servals, topis, honey badgers, bush pigs, Impalas, and vervet monkeys among others.
The Park is also a suitable place for birders boosting more than 400 species of birds including the blue swallows, the rare intra-African migrants, the blue swallow and many others.
The Park therefore welcomes almost each type of visitor including; the game lovers, bird enthusiast, sundowners, photographers due to its good scenery and beauty, historians, campers, and it is also an ideal destination for picnics because it comprises of various picnic sites such as; Korlang’o picnic site.
It is a historical site which was used as an escape route by the kalenjin during the colonial time when they were brought to Lambwe Valley to die during the resistant, as the place was inhabited due to tsetse fly and malaria.
Twiga is another picnic located in the middle of the Park allowing you to snack with the animals.
Accommodation in the Park include; Oribi gueast house, Karibuni eco-cottages and many others all offering spectacular views of the Park and the surrounding environment.
The Park is accessible from two gates which are; Kamato gate of which it is the main gate and the other one is called Nyatoto gate.
