Ruma National Park

Ruma National Park is a 120-square-kilometer wildlife sanctuary located in Homa Bay County within western Kenya's Nyanza region, roughly 30 kilometers from Homa Bay town and 425 kilometers from Nairobi. Situated along the flat floor of the seasonally watered Lambwe River Valley, the park is flanked by the Kanyamwa Escarpment to the southeast and the volcanic plugs of the Ruri Hills to the north. The area was originally gazetted as the Lambwe Valley Game Reserve in 1966 before being upgraded to national park status in 1983. It was renamed Ruma in honor of Gor Mahia, a revered historic Luo healer and leader who lived in the surrounding countryside.The park features a diverse landscape of open grassland savannah, acacia thickets, riverine woodlands, and dramatic cliffs. Ruma is best known as Kenya's sole remaining sanctuary for the critically endangered roan antelope. In addition to the roan antelope, the park provides protected habitat for rare Rothschild's giraffes, reintroduced eastern black rhinoceroses, Cape buffaloes, Lelwel hartebeests, oribis, topis, waterbucks, leopards, and spotted hyenas. Recognized as an Important Bird Area with more than 400 recorded avian species, Ruma serves as a key migratory site for the globally threatened blue swallow, which feeds and roosts in the moist grasslands between April and September.Visitors to Ruma National Park can experience guided or self-drive game drives across unpaved savannah tracks, bush walks with experienced wildlife rangers, hiking along the scenic Kanyamwa Escarpment, and wilderness camping at designated public and special campsites. Access to the park is primarily provided through Kamato Main Gate and Nyatoto Gate. Due to its remote setting in western Kenya, Ruma offers a quiet, uncrowded safari environment dedicated to wildlife conservation and eco-tourism.