From the rim of Menengai Crater, a forested caldera floor drops away below you and steam drifts up from its vents. Turn around and the city spreads across the Rift Valley floor, roofs running down toward Lake Nakuru.
Back down the slope, rhinos graze in the national park just past the edge of town, and Hyrax Hill keeps the traces of people who lived beside the lake thousands of years ago. Days here are warm and nights turn cool, with the heaviest rains from March to May. A Local Friend can pull up a chair for you at a family table you would never have found, where mukimo is passed round with the stories.
