Also known as Bird Island, Mbasa is home to a wide variety of wetland birds, including long-tailed cormorants (which have a breeding colony here), fish eagles, marsh harriers and little white egrets. Bird concentrations are thickest at sunset, when birds return to roost. To get here you’ll need to arrange a boat with a local fisherman or ask at the Wayando Beach Club Eco Lodge; expect to pay between KSh4000 and KSh7500 per boat.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.28 MILES
A child of Rusinga, Mboya was one of the few Luo people to achieve political success. He held a huge amount of influence as Jomo Kenyatta’s right-hand man…
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Bordered by the dramatic Kanyamaa Escarpment, and home to Kenya’s only population of roans (one of Africa’s rarest and largest antelope), is the seldom…
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Gazetted as a national park in 1986, this 4.2-sq-km island has never seen tourism take off. It is forested and very beautiful, housing a variety of bird…
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These rock paintings, often featuring sun motifs, are both revered and feared by locals (which has hindered vandalism) and are thought to be the handiwork…
Nearby Mbita & Rusinga Island attractions
5.28 MILES
A child of Rusinga, Mboya was one of the few Luo people to achieve political success. He held a huge amount of influence as Jomo Kenyatta’s right-hand man…
15.41 MILES
These rock paintings, often featuring sun motifs, are both revered and feared by locals (which has hindered vandalism) and are thought to be the handiwork…
18.86 MILES
Bordered by the dramatic Kanyamaa Escarpment, and home to Kenya’s only population of roans (one of Africa’s rarest and largest antelope), is the seldom…
24.56 MILES
Gazetted as a national park in 1986, this 4.2-sq-km island has never seen tourism take off. It is forested and very beautiful, housing a variety of bird…