Rift Valley
Elgeyo-Marakwet
Perched on the Elgeyo escarpment overlooking the Kerio Valley, this county's town of Iten is the world-famous training home of champion runners, and the Marakwet people's ancient irrigation furrows still water the valley.
What you'll hear
The people
Keiyo
The Keiyo people inhabit the southern and central parts of the county, living primarily along the high altitude plateau, escarpment ledges, and lower valley zones. Historically pastoralists who adapted to high-altitude crop farming, they developed resilient agricultural practices suited to the steep terrain. Their identity is tightly woven with age-set traditions, physical endurance, and strong community solidarity. In modern times, they form a key demographic around administrative hubs like Iten and Tambach.
Marakwet
The Marakwet people occupy the northern section of the county, living along the cliff faces, valley floor, and upper slopes of the Cherang'any Hills. Comprising territorial sub-groups like the Endo, Almo, Markweta, and Borokot, they are famous for their ancient irrigation furrow engineering. They maintain vibrant traditional governance structures through elder councils and practice mixed farming, growing crops along escarpment terraces while herding livestock in the valley.
Sengwer
The Sengwer, also known as the Cherang'any, are an indigenous hunter-gatherer community native to the high forests of the Cherang'any Hills and Embobut Forest. Historically reliant on wild honey harvesting, gathering, and herbal medicine, they possess deep ecological knowledge of the local forest ecosystem. Despite decades of territorial displacement due to forest conservation policies, they maintain a distinct cultural identity anchored in ancestral forest lands and traditional stewardship.
Food & Cuisine
Mursik
Mursik is an iconic Kalenjin fermented milk delicacy that holds immense cultural value across Elgeyo-Marakwet County. Fresh cow or goat milk is boiled, allowed to cool, and poured into a specially prepared gourd called a sotet that has been cleaned and lined with glowing charcoal ash from specific aromatic trees like senetwet. The ash acts as a natural preservative, gives the milk its distinct smoky flavor, and imparts a rich black-speckled appearance. Mursik is traditionally served during major life ceremonies, to welcome returning victors at airport homecomings, and as a daily staple alongside ugali. It is believed to aid digestion, increase physical stamina, and strengthen social bonds when shared from a common gourd.
Kimyet
Kimyet is the traditional stiff porridge made from dark finger millet or sorghum flour, often blended with fine maize meal. Preparation involves boiling mountain spring water in a heavy pot and vigorously stirring in the freshly ground flour using a wooden spoon until a firm, fragrant loaf forms. In Elgeyo-Marakwet, Kimyet is prized over plain white maize ugali for its rich mineral content, sustained energy release, and deep connection to ancestral agricultural practices. It is traditionally served piping hot on woven mats alongside indigenous leafy greens or stewed goat meat. Daily family dinners and communal working parties rely on Kimyet to sustain farmers through arduous labor on the steep escarpment slopes.
Sagiet
Sagiet is an indigenous bitter leafy green vegetable harvested from small family gardens and wild homestead edges throughout the county. The tender leaves and young shoots are boiled in salted water to soften their strong, slightly pungent flavor, then sautéed with onions, tomatoes, and occasionally finished with fresh cream or milk to reduce bitterness. Sagiet is exceptionally rich in iron and vitamins, making it a vital food for nursing mothers, recovering elders, and athletes undergoing high-altitude training in Iten. It is almost always paired with warm Kimyet to create a classic, wholesome Kalenjin meal during family gatherings.
Kipsongik
Kipsongik, widely known locally as Suchot, consists of tender young pumpkin leaves stripped of their tough fibrous outer veins and finely shredded. The leaves are gently steamed with water and salt, then folded with fresh farm butter or fermented sour milk to create a smooth, delicate vegetable dish. This dish is deeply tied to the home garden tradition in Keiyo and Marakwet homesteads, where women cultivate pumpkin patches along farm borders. It is typically served as a mild, comforting side dish to millet ugali during family suppers and seasonal harvest meals.
Chepkoriet
Chepkoriet is a thick, fermented traditional beverage brewed primarily from germinated finger millet and sorghum grains. The grains are soaked, sprouted, sun-dried, ground into coarse flour, roasted over open stone hearths, and left to ferment with water in large earthen pots for several days. The resulting drink has a warm, sour flavor profile and a dense consistency that makes it both a refreshing beverage and a source of nutrition. Chepkoriet is strictly associated with social assemblies, elder councils, harvest celebrations, and post-initiation feasts. Elders sit together around a central earthenware pot, sipping the beverage through long hollow reed straws while discussing village affairs.
Music & Sound
Kambakta
Kambakta is a powerful, energetic victory and celebration dance performed predominantly by men and warriors in Keiyo and Marakwet communities. Dancers wear traditional animal skins, beaded chest bands, and leg bells that rhythmically chime with every heavy footfall against the earth. The performance features high vertical leaps, synchronized chest-stamping, and intense call-and-response chanting that mimics the spirit of victorious hunters. It is traditionally performed to celebrate athletic triumphs, return from initiation, or honor high-profile community visitors. What makes Kambakta distinct in Elgeyo-Marakwet is its raw physical intensity, directly mirroring the endurance and rugged terrain of the high-altitude escarpment.
Chepkesem
Chepkesem is a rhythmic vocal storytelling tradition and dance genre performed by women during family celebrations, birth announcements, and weddings. The musical style relies on dynamic lead singers who improvise poetic verses about family lineage, community virtues, and historical events while a chorus provides harmonious refrains and rhythmic handclapping. Dancers wear brightly patterned skirts and elaborate beaded neckpieces that sway gently as they execute fluid shoulder-shaking movements. The performance is typically unaccompanied by drums, relying instead on high-pitched vocal ululations and foot tapping to establish pace. It serves as a vital oral archive through which local women pass down cultural history and moral wisdom to younger generations.
Tumdo Songs
Tumdo songs comprise a sacred cycle of initiation music performed strictly during seasonal rites of passage transitioning youth into adulthood. These songs are categorized into pre-circumcision night vigils, seclusion teaching chants, and triumphant public homecoming choruses. The vocal style alternates between deep, solemn chanting led by initiates and dynamic, joyful responses from female relatives standing outside the seclusion compounds. Simple percussive instruments like woodblocks, leg bells, and animal horns mark time and drive the emotional tempo of the rites. The sacred nature of these songs makes them exclusive to specific life stages, serving as a powerful vessel for community bonding.
Koros Ceremonial Songs
Koros songs are spiritual invocation chants performed during major community blessings, rainmaking rituals, and elders' council gatherings. Led by respected spiritual leaders, the chanting features low-pitched, repetitive vocal refrains directed toward the supreme creator, seeking protection, rainfall, and healthy livestock. The music involves minimal bodily movement; elders stand in formal circles holding ceremonial flywhisks and leafy branches of sacred trees like the Simotwet. The songs are marked by long sustained notes that echo off the rock faces of the Elgeyo Escarpment, creating a soundscape deeply tied to the elevation and topography of the county.
Traditions & Customs
Koito
Koito is the formal traditional marriage negotiation ceremony practiced by Keiyo and Marakwet families to establish an alliance between two clans. The groom's family travels to the bride's ancestral home carrying gifts of fine honey, traditional brew, and tea to officially seek her hand in marriage. Elders from both families gather in a private room to discuss family background, compatibility, and settle the bride price, which traditionally includes livestock and monetary tokens. Once agreement is reached, the couple is brought before the gathered extended family for public blessings and the ceremonial drinking of Mursik from a shared gourd.
Tumdo ab Muren
Tumdo ab Muren is the traditional Kalenjin initiation custom marking the formal transition of adolescent boys into adulthood and warriorhood. Occurring during school holidays in secluded bush camps called Kaptumdo, young initiates reside away from the general public for several weeks. Guided by appointed male mentors and elders, the boys undergo physical circumcision, endurance tests, and rigorous instruction regarding clan lineage, personal discipline, and family duties. Upon successful completion, a grand public homecoming celebration is held where initiates emerge dressed in new attire to receive blessings and gifts from their families.
Kokwo Judicial Council
Kokwo is the traditional governance and dispute resolution assembly led by community elders to maintain social order and manage shared resources. Gathered under the shade of sacred trees like the Simotwet, elders hear cases regarding land boundary disputes, livestock theft, and water rights along irrigation furrows. Community members present evidence orally, and the elders deliberate collectively until a consensus is reached based on customary law. Decisions issued by the Kokwo carry deep moral authority, and failure to comply can result in social sanctions or fines paid in livestock.
Kipkurerek Blessing Rites
Kipkurerek is a sacred community blessing ritual conducted during periods of prolonged drought, animal disease, or prior to significant planting seasons. Village elders gather at elevated sacred hilltops or forest clearings, lighting ceremonial fires using specific indigenous woods. They offer prayers and chants to Asis, the supreme deity, pouring libations of fresh milk, honey, and traditional brew onto the soil to seek divine protection and rain. The ritual reinforces the community's spiritual connection to their land, ancestral legacy, and natural environment.
Heritage Sites
Endo Traditional Irrigation System
The Endo Irrigation System is an extraordinary indigenous engineering network located along the Marakwet Escarpment in northern Elgeyo-Marakwet. Built centuries ago by the ancestors of the Marakwet people, this network of gravity-fed furrows channels water from high mountain rivers down sheer cliffs to the dry floor of the Kerio Valley. Visitors to the site can witness ancient aqueducts constructed across deep gorges using tree trunks, river stones, and clay, maintained to this day without modern machinery. The system demonstrates remarkable indigenous knowledge of hydrology and spatial planning, earning it recognition on UNESCO's Tentative List for World Heritage. Experiencing the site reveals a living cultural landscape where daily agricultural survival relies directly on ancestral technology.
Cheploch Gorge
Cheploch Gorge is a dramatic, narrow chasm carved by the Kerio River through solid volcanic basalt rock on the border of Elgeyo-Marakwet and Baringo counties. The gorge drops sharply into swirling river waters below, framed by rugged, dry scrubland cliffs. Visitors to Cheploch are greeted by local divers who perform daring, gravity-defying leaps from high rock ledges into the tight slot of water below with remarkable precision. Beyond the diving spectacle, the site carries historical significance as an ancient natural boundary and a strategic crossing point used by pastoral communities for centuries.
Iten High Altitude Training Center
Iten is a world-renowned town perched at 2,400 meters above sea level on the lip of the Elgeyo Escarpment, famous globally as the Home of Champions. Originally a quiet colonial administrative center, Iten transformed into the global capital of long-distance running through institutions like St. Patrick's High School. Visitors walking under the iconic Welcome to Iten arch can observe elite Olympic champions and international marathoners training side-by-side along red dirt roads at dawn. The site offers breathtaking panoramic vistas dropping over 1,000 meters into the Kerio Valley floor below. It stands as a unique modern heritage location where athletic culture, geography, and global sports excellence intersect.
Rimoi National Reserve
Rimoi National Reserve is a serene 177-square-kilometer wildlife sanctuary situated on the floor of the Kerio Valley. The reserve is famous for hosting one of East Africa's largest single migratory herds of elephants, alongside warthogs, bushbucks, pangolins, and diverse bird species. A visitor to Rimoi experiences raw wilderness characterized by acacia thickets, riverine woodlands, and sweeping dramatic views of the towering Elgeyo Escarpment wall above. The conservation area represents a critical effort to protect the fragile valley ecosystem while maintaining wildlife corridors between northern and central Kenya.
Torok Waterfalls
Torok Waterfalls is a magnificent natural cascade located near Kolol along the cliff face of the Elgeyo Escarpment, plunging over 200 meters down a sheer rock face. The waterfall is visible from kilometers away across the Rift Valley floor, framed by dense high-altitude rainforest vegetation and misty mountain air. Visitors taking the challenging trek to the foot of the falls experience dense mountain flora, natural cave formations, and incredible sweeping vistas across the Rift Valley. The site holds local cultural importance, traditionally regarded as a sacred location and an essential headwater source for downstream communities.
History
Pre-colonial
Development of the Endo Furrow Irrigation System
Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the Marakwet people constructed an intricate network of gravity-fed irrigation furrows along the steep Marakwet Escarpment. Facing unpredictable rainfall in the valley floor and steep rocky mountain slopes, various clan groups collaborated to divert water from mountain rivers like the Embobut, Arror, and Mon. Using hollowed tree trunks as bridges across ravines and lining channels with basalt rocks and mud, they transformed dry valley terraces into fertile farmland. Water allocation was governed by a sophisticated council system based on rotational shares, preventing water conflicts between highland and lowland clans. This remarkable engineering achievement allowed permanent agricultural settlement, sustained high population densities, and created a unique land-use model that remains active today.
Post-independence
Conservation Debates and Indigenous Rights in Embobut Forest
During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the Embobut Forest within the Cherang'any Hills became the focal point of intense environmental conservation and human rights struggles. Designated as a primary water tower for Kenya, the forest faced ecological degradation due to illegal logging, charcoal production, and human encroachment. State agencies launched multiple clearance and eviction operations to restore the water catchment, leading to conflict with the indigenous Sengwer community who claim ancestral rights to the forest ecosystem. Human rights organizations and local elders advocated for community-based conservation models that respect indigenous rights under the 2010 Kenyan Constitution. This ongoing historical struggle emphasizes the delicate balance between national environmental protection and minority land rights.
Colonial
Establishment of Elgeyo-Marakwet District and Native Reserves
In the early decades of the 20th century, British colonial authorities established administrative control over the region, establishing Tambach as the district headquarters in 1927. Colonial policies demarcated the land into native reserves while declaring high-altitude mountain forests in the Cherang'any Hills as crown forest land. This restricted access for indigenous communities, particularly the forest-dwelling Sengwer who relied on honey gathering and hunting. Furthermore, compulsory terracing and soil conservation labor were imposed on local farmers in the 1930s to mitigate severe erosion along the steep escarpment slopes caused by restricted population movement. These administrative actions fundamentally altered local land tenure, disrupted traditional seasonal grazing migrations, and shaped the political economy of the region throughout the colonial period.
Post-independence
Emergence of Iten as a Global Athletic Powerhouse
Beginning in the 1970s, the small town of Iten evolved from a quiet rural administrative center into the world's premier high-altitude training hub. This transformation was largely initiated by Irish Patrician Brother Colm O'Connell, who arrived at St. Patrick's High School in 1976 and established a youth athletics training camp. Utilizing the altitude of 2,400 meters, cool climate, and grueling terrain, the program produced iconic world champions and record holders like Peter Rono, Wilson Kipketer, and David Rudisha. As local runners achieved global success, wealth was funneled back into the county to construct athletic camps, hotels, and infrastructure. Today, Iten attracts thousands of international athletes and sports tourists annually, establishing high-altitude sports as a central pillar of the county's modern economic and cultural identity.